THE SIEGE OF EVESHAM CASTLE.
Upon the day before starting out to head the expedition against the
outlaws, Sir Rudolph sent word to the Lady Margaret that she must
prepare to become his wife at the end of the week. He had provided two
tiring maids for her by ordering two of the franklins to send in their
daughters for that purpose, and these mingled their tears with
Margaret's at the situation in which they were placed. She replied
firmly to the messenger of the knight that no power on earth could
oblige her to marry him. He might drive her to the altar; but though he
killed her there, her lips should refuse to say the words which would
unite them.
The following morning, early, the castle rang with the din of
preparation. The great portion of the mercenaries were encamped in tents
outside the walls, for, spacious as it was, Evesham could hardly contain
four hundred men in addition to its usual garrison. The men-at-arms were
provided with heavy axes to cut their way through the bushes. Some
carried bundles of straw, to fire the wood should it be found
practicable to do so; and as it was now summer and the wind was blowing
high, Sir Rudolph hoped that the dry grass and bushes would catch, and
would do more even than his men-at-arms in clearing the forest of those
whom he designated the villains infesting it. They had, too, with them
several fierce dogs trained to hunting the deer, and these, the knight
hoped, would do good service in tracking the outlaws. He and the knights
and the men-at-arms with him were all dismounted, for he felt that
horses would in the forest be an incumbrance, and he was determined
himself to lead the way to the men-at-arms.
When they reached the forest they were saluted by a shower of arrows;
but as all were clad in mail, these at a distance effected but little
harm. As they came closer, however, the clothyard arrows began to pierce
the coarse and ill-made armor of the foot soldiers, although the finer
armor of the knights kept out the shafts which struck against it. Sir
Rudolph and his knights leading the way, they entered the forest and
gradually pressed their invisible foe backward through the trees. The
dogs did good service, going on ahead and attacking the archers; but,
one by one, they were soon shot, and the assailants left to their own
devices. Several attempts were made to fire the wood. But these failed,
the fire burning but a short time and then dying out of itself. In
addition to the fighting men, Sir Rudolph had impressed into the service
all the serfs of his domain, and these, armed with axes, were directed
to cut down the trees as the force proceeded, Sir Rudolph declaring that
he would not cease until he had leveled the whole forest, though it
might take him months to do so.
The assailants gained ground steadily, the resistance being less severe
than Sir Rudolph had anticipated. Several small huts and clearings in
the forest which had been used by the outlaws, and round which small
crops had been planted, were destroyed, and all seemed to promise well
for the success of the enterprise.
It was about two hours after they had left the castle, when a heavy cart
filled with fagots was seen approaching its gates. The garrison, who had
not the least fear of any attack, paid no attention to it until it
reached the edge of the moat. Then the warder, seeing that it contained
fagots, lowered the drawbridge without question, raised the portcullis,
and opened the gates.
"From whom do you bring this wood?" he asked as the man driving the oxen
began to cross the bridge.
"From the franklin of Hopeburn."
"It is well," said the warder, "for he is in arrear now, and should have
sent in the firewood two months since. Take it to the woodhouse at the
other end of the court."
The heavy wagon crossed the drawbridge, but as it was entering the gate
it came suddenly to a stop. With a blow of his ox goad Cnut leveled the
warder to the ground, and cutting the cords of the bullocks, drove them
into the yard ahead. As he did so the pile of fagots fell asunder, and
twelve men armed with bow and pike leaped out. The men-at-arms standing
near, lounging in the courtyard, gave a shout of alarm, and the
garrison, surprised at this sudden cry, ran to their arms. At first they
were completely panic-stricken. But seeing after a time how small was
the number of their assailants, they took heart and advanced against
them. The passage was narrow, and the twelve men formed a wall across
it. Six of them with their pikes advanced, the other six with bent bows
standing behind them and delivering their arrows between their heads.
The garrison fought stoutly, and although losing many, were pressing the
little band backward. In vain the assistant-warder tried to lower the
portcullis, or to close the gates. The former fell on to the top of the
wagon, and was there retained. The gates also were barred by the
obstacle. The chains of the drawbridge had at once been cut. Cnut
encouraged his followers by his shouts, and armed with a heavy ax, did
good service upon the assailants. But four of his party had fallen, and
the rest were giving way, when a shout was heard, and over the
drawbridge poured Cuthbert and one hundred and fifty of the outlaws of
the forest. Struck with terror at this attack, the garrison drew back,
and the foresters poured into the yard. For a few minutes there was a
fierce fight; but the defenders of the castle, disheartened and taken by
surprise, were either cut down or, throwing down their arms, cried for
quarter.
Ten minutes after the wagon had crossed the drawbridge the castle was
safely in possession of Sir Cuthbert. The bridge was raised, the wagon
removed, the portcullis lowered, and to the external eye all remained as
before.
Cuthbert at once made his way to the chamber where the Lady Margaret was
confined, and her joy at her deliverance was great indeed. So unlimited
was her faith in Sir Cuthbert that she had never lost confidence; and
although it did not seem possible that in the face of such disparity of
numbers he could rescue her from the power of Sir Rudolph, yet she had
not given up hope. The joy of the farmers' daughters who had been
carried off to act as her attendants was little inferior to her own; for
once in the power of this reckless baron, the girls had small hopes of
ever being allowed to return again to their parents.
The flag of Sir Rudolph was thrown down from the keep, and that of the
late earl hoisted in its stead; for Cuthbert himself, although he had
assumed the cognizance which King Richard had granted him, had not yet
any flag or pennon emblazoned with it.
No words can portray the stupefaction and rage of Sir Rudolph when a man
who had managed to slip unobserved from the castle at the time of its
capture bore the news to him in the forest. All opposition there had
ceased, and the whole of the troops were engaged in aiding the peasants
in cutting wide roads through the trees across the forest, so as to make
it penetrable by horsemen in every direction. It was supposed that the
outlaws had gradually stolen away through the thickets and taken to the
open country, intending to scatter to their homes, or other distant
hiding-places; and the news that they had by a ruse captured the castle
came as a thunder-clap.
Sir Rudolph's first impulse was to call his men together and to march
toward the castle. The drawbridge was up and the walls bristled with
armed men. It was useless to attempt a parley; still more useless to
think of attacking the stronghold without the proper machines and
appliances. Foaming with rage, Sir Rudolph took possession of a cottage
near, camped his men around and prepared for a siege.
There were among the mercenaries many men accustomed to the use of
engines of war. Many, too, had aided in making them; and these were at
once set to work to construct the various machines in use at that time.
Before the invention of gunpowder, castles such as those of the English
barons were able to defy any attack by an armed force for a long period.
Their walls were so thick that even the balistas, casting huge stones,
were unable to breach them except after a very long time. The moats
which surrounded them were wide and deep, and any attempt at storming by
ladders was therefore extremely difficult; and these buildings were
consequently more often captured by famine than by other means. Of
provisions, as Sir Rudolph knew, there was a considerable supply at
present in the castle, for he had collected a large number of bullocks
in order to feed the strong body who had been added to the garrison. The
granaries, too, were well stored; and with a groan Sir Rudolph thought
of the rich stores of French wines which he had collected in his
cellars.
After much deliberation with the knights with him and the captain of the
mercenaries, it was agreed in the first instance to attempt to attack
the place by filling up a portion of the moat and ascending by scaling
ladders. Huge screens of wood were made, and these were placed on
wagons; the wagons themselves were filled with bags of earth, and a
large number of men getting beneath them shoved the ponderous machines
forward to the edge of the moat. The bags of stones and earth were then
thrown in, and the wagons pushed backward to obtain a fresh supply. This
operation was of course an exceedingly slow one, a whole day being
occupied with each trip of the wagons. They were not unmolested in their
advance, for, from the walls, mangonels and other machines hurled great
stones down upon the wooden screens, succeeding sometimes, in spite of
their thickness, in crashing through them, killing many of the men
beneath. The experiment was also tried of throwing balls of Greek fire
down upon the wood; but as this was green and freshly felled it would
not take fire, but the flames dropping through, with much boiling pitch
and other materials, did grievously burn and scald the soldiers working
below it. Upon both sides every device was tried. The crossbowmen among
the mercenaries kept up a fire upon the walls to hinder the defenders
from interfering with the operations, while the archers above shot
steadily, and killed many of those who ventured within range of their
bows.
After ten days' labor a portion of the moat some twenty yards in length
was filled with bags of earth, and all was ready for the assault. The
besiegers had prepared great numbers of strong ladders, and these were
brought up under shelter of the screens. Then, all being ready, the
trumpets sounded for the assault, and the troops moved forward in a
close body, covering themselves with their shields so that no man's head
or body was visible, each protecting the one before him with his shield
held over him. Thus the body presented the appearance of a great
scale-covered animal. In many respects, indeed, the warfare of those
days was changed in no way from that of the time of the Romans. In the
twelve hundred years which had elapsed between the siege of Jerusalem
and the days of the Crusades there had been but little change in arms or
armor, and the operations which Titus undertook for the reduction of the
Jewish stronghold differed but little from those which a Norman baron
employed in besieging his neighbor's castle.
Within Evesham Castle all was contentment and merriment during these
days. The garrison had no fear whatever of being unable to repel the
assault when it should be delivered. Huge stones had been collected in
numbers on the walls, caldrons of pitch, beneath which fires kept
simmering, stood there in readiness. Long poles with hooks with which to
seize the ladders and cut them down were laid there; and all that
precaution and science could do was prepared.
Cuthbert passed much of the day, when not required upon the walls,
chatting with the Lady Margaret, who, attended by her maidens, sat
working in her bower. She had learned to read from the good nuns of the
convent--an accomplishment which was by no means general, even among the
daughters of nobles; but books were rare, and Evesham boasted but few
manuscripts. Here Margaret learned in full all the details of Cuthbert's
adventures since leaving England, and the fondness with which as a child
she had regarded the lad grew gradually into the affection of a woman.
The courage of the garrison was high, for although they believed that
sooner or later the castle might be carried by the besiegers, they had
already been told by Cnut that there was a means of egress unknown to
the besiegers, and that when the time came they would be able to escape
unharmed. This, while it in no way detracted from their determination to
defend the castle to the last, yet rendered their task a far lighter and
more agreeable one than it would have been had they seen the gallows
standing before them as the end of the siege.
As the testudo, as it was called in those days, advanced toward the
castle, the machines upon the walls--catapults, mangonels and
arbalasts--poured forth showers of stones and darts upon it, breaking up
the array of shields and killing many; and as these openings were made,
the archers, seizing their time, poured in volleys of arrows. The
mercenaries, however, accustomed to war, advanced steadily, and made
good their footing beneath the castle wall, and proceeded to rear their
ladders. Here, although free from the action of the machines, they were
exposed to the hand missiles, which were scarcely less destructive. In
good order, and with firmness, however, they reared the ladders, and
mounted to the assault, covering themselves as well as they could with
their shields. In vain, however, did they mount. The defenders poured
down showers of boiling pitch and oil, which penetrated the crevices of
their armor and caused intolerable torment. Great stones were toppled
over from the battlements upon them; and sometimes the ladders, seized
by the poles with hooks, were cast backward, with all upon them, on the
throng below. For half an hour, encouraged by the shouts of Sir Rudolph
and their leaders, the soldiers strove gallantly; but were at last
compelled to draw off, having lost nigh one hundred men, without one
gaining a footing upon the walls.
That evening another council of war was held without. Already some large
machines for which Sir Rudolph had sent had arrived. In anticipation of
the possibility of failure, two castles upon wheels had been prepared,
and between these a huge beam with an iron head was hung. This was upon
the following day pushed forward on the newly-formed ground across the
moat. Upon the upper part of each tower were armed men who worked
machines casting sheaves of arrows and other missiles. Below were those
who worked the ram. To each side of the beam were attached numerous
cords, and with these it was swung backward and forward, giving heavy
blows each stroke upon the wall. The machines for casting stones, which
had arrived, were also brought in play, and day and night these
thundered against the walls; while the ram repeated its ceaseless blows
upon the same spot, until the stone crumbled before it.
Very valiantly did the garrison oppose themselves to these efforts. But
each day showed the progress made by the besiegers. Their forces had
been increased, Prince John having ordered his captain at Gloucester to
send another one hundred men to the assistance of Sir Rudolph. Other
towers had now been prepared. These were larger than the first, and
overtopped the castle walls. From the upper story were drawbridges, so
formed as to drop from the structures upon the walls, and thus enable
the besiegers to rush upon them. The process was facilitated by the fact
that the battlements had been shot away by the great stones, and there
was a clear space on which the drawbridges could fall. The attack was
made with great vigor; but for a long time the besieged maintained their
post, and drove back the assailants as they poured out across the
drawbridges on to the wall. At last Cuthbert saw that the forces opposed
to him were too numerous to be resisted, and gave orders to his men to
fall back upon the inner keep.
Making one rush, and clearing the wall of those who had gained a
footing, the garrison fell back hastily, and were safely within the
massive keep before the enemy had mustered in sufficient numbers upon
the wall to interfere with them. The drawbridge was now lowered, and the
whole of the assailants gained footing within the castle. They were
still far from having achieved a victory. The walls of the keep were
massive and strong, and its top far higher than the walls, so that from
above a storm of arrows poured down upon all who ventured to show
themselves. The keep had no windows low enough down for access to be
gained; and those on the floors above were so narrow, and protected by
bars, that it seemed by scaling the walls alone could an entry be
effected. This was far too desperate an enterprise to be attempted, for
the keep rose eighty feet above the courtyard. It was upon the door,
solid and studded with iron, that the attempt had to be made.
Several efforts were made by Sir Rudolph, who fought with a bravery
worthy of a better cause, to assault and batter down the door. Protected
by wooden shields from the rain of missiles from above, he and his
knights hacked at the door with their battle-axes. But in vain. It had
been strengthened by beams behind, and by stones piled up against it.
Then fire was tried. Fagots were collected in the forest, and brought;
and a huge pile having been heaped against the door, it was lighted. "We
could doubtless prolong the siege for some days, Lady Margaret," said
Cuthbert, "but the castle is ours; and we wish not, when the time comes
that we shall again be masters of it, that it should be a mere heap of
ruins. Methinks we have done enough. With but small losses on our side,
we have killed great numbers of the enemy, and have held them at bay for
a month. Therefore, I think that to-night it will be well for us to
leave the place."
Lady Margaret was rejoiced at the news that the time for escape had
come, for the perpetual clash of war, the rattling of arrows, the
ponderous thud of heavy stones caused a din very alarming to a young
girl; and although the room in which she sat, looking into the inner
court of the castle, was not exposed to missiles, she trembled at the
thought that brave men were being killed, and that at any moment a shot
might strike Cuthbert, and so leave her without a friend or protector.
Content with having destroyed the door, the assailants made no further
effort that evening, but prepared in the morning to attack it, pull down
the stones filled behind it, and force their way into the keep. There
was, with the exception of the main entrance, but one means of exit, a
small postern door behind the castle, and throughout the siege a strong
body of troops had been posted here, to prevent the garrison making a
sortie. Feeling secure therefore that upon the following day his enemies
would fall into his power, Sir Rudolph retired to rest.
An hour before midnight the garrison assembled in the hall. The table
was removed, and Cuthbert having pressed the spring, which was at a
distance from the stone and could not be discovered without a knowledge
of its existence, the stone turned aside by means of a counterpoise, and
a flight of steps was seen. Torches had been prepared. Cnut and a chosen
band went first; Cuthbert followed, with Lady Margaret and her
attendants; and the rest of the archers brought up the rear, a trusty
man being left in charge at last with orders to swing back the stone
into its place, having first hauled the table over the spot, so that
their means of escape should be unknown.
The passage was long and dreary, the walls were damp with wet, and the
massive doors so swollen by moisture that it was with the greatest
difficulty they could be opened. At last, however, they emerged into
the little friary in the wood. It was deserted, the priest who usually
dwelt there having fled when the siege began. The stone which there, as
in the castle, concealed the exit, was carefully closed, and the party
then emerged into the open air. Here Cuthbert bade adieu to his
comrades. Cnut had very anxiously begged to be allowed to accompany him
and share his fortunes, and Cuthbert had promised him that if at any
time he should again take up arms in England, he would summon him to his
side, but that at present as he knew not whither his steps would be
turned, it would be better that he should be unattended. The archers had
all agreed to scatter far and wide through the country, many of them
proceeding to Nottingham and joining the bands in the forest of
Sherwood.
Cuthbert himself had determined to make his way to the castle of his
friend, Sir Baldwin, and to leave the Lady Margaret in his charge. Cnut
hurried on at full speed to the house of a franklin, some three miles
distant. Here horses were obtained and saddled, and dresses prepared;
and when Cuthbert with Lady Margaret arrived there, no time was lost.
Dressed as a yeoman, with the Lady Margaret as his sister, he mounted a
horse, with her behind him on a pillion. The other damsels also mounted,
as it would not have been safe for them to remain near Evesham. They
therefore purposed taking refuge in a convent near Gloucester for the
present. Bidding a hearty adieu to Cnut, and with thanks to the franklin
who had aided them, they set forward on their journey. By morning they
had reached the convent, and here the two girls were left, and Cuthbert
continued his journey. He left his charge at a convent a day's ride
distant from the castle of Sir Baldwin, as he wished to consult the
knight first as to the best way of her entering the castle without
exciting talk or suspicion.
Sir Baldwin received him with joy. He had heard something of his doings,
and the news of the siege of Evesham had been noised abroad. He told him
that he was in communication with many other barons, and that ere long
they hoped to rise against the tyranny of Prince John, but that at
present they were powerless, as many, hoping that King Richard would
return ere long, shrank from involving the country in a civil war. When
Cuthbert told him that the daughter of his old friend was at a convent
but a day's ride distant, and that he sought protection for her, Sir
Baldwin instantly offered her hospitality.
"I will," he said, "send my good wife to fetch her. Some here know your
presence, and it would be better therefore that she did not arrive for
some days, as her coming will then seem to be unconnected with yourself.
My wife and I will, a week hence, give out that we are going to fetch a
cousin of my wife's to stay here with her; and when we return no
suspicion will be excited that she is other than she seems. Should it be
otherwise, I need not say that Sir Baldwin of Béthune will defend his
castle against any of the minions of Prince John. But I have no fear
that her presence here will be discovered. What think you of doing in
the meantime?"
"I am thinking," Cuthbert said, "of going east. No news has been
obtained of our lord the king save that he is a prisoner in the hands of
the emperor; but where confined, or how, we know not. It is my intent to
travel to the Tyrol, and to trace his steps from the time that he was
captured. Then, when I obtain knowledge of the place where he is kept, I
will return, and consult upon the best steps to be taken. My presence in
England is now useless. Did the barons raise the standard of King
Richard against the prince, I should at once return and join them. But
without land or vassals, I can do nothing here, and shall be indeed like
a hunted hare, for I know that the false earl will move heaven and earth
to capture me."
Sir Baldwin approved of the resolution; but recommended Cuthbert to take
every precaution not to fall himself into the hands of the emperor;
"for," he said, "if we cannot discover the prison of King Richard, I
fear that it would be hopeless indeed ever to attempt to find that in
which a simple knight is confined."