Stewart Binns - Conquest

The fine building was a credit to Teinfrith and his masons. The roof was over 150 feet from the ground, a triumph of engineering, and the smooth cream stonework and graceful carving were as well worked as any in Christendom.

King Edward was by now quite near.

As he moved closer, Harold stepped forward. ‘Sire, may I introduce Torfida, a woman in my service. She may interest you.’

Torfida curtsied elegantly, and the King nodded in acknowledgement.

‘She has travelled extensively, including Constantinople and Rome, and has studied the ancient texts in mathematics. One of her many interests is church architecture, sire.’

‘Indeed.’ Edward’s manner was at first dismissive, then, with a jolt, his face contorted into a scowl. ‘Is this the wife of that scoundrel, Hereward?’

Harold was not perturbed by the King’s bluntness. ‘It is, sire, but she is here in her own right. Hereward is with my housecarls at Glastonbury, as I know his presence in London displeases you.’

‘Don’t patronize me, Earl Godwinson. You do as you see fit, whether it displeases me or not.’

Torfida was shocked to hear the King speak to Harold so sharply. Edward made to move on and Harold, his face suffused with anger, stepped aside. Torfida decided to take a risk and speak to the King without being spoken to first. She used her impeccable Norman French.

‘My Lord King, Master Teinfrith is to be congratulated; the great abbey church of Jumièges pales in comparison with your achievement here. I can see the resemblance to the Abbey of Bernay, but you have improved the vaulting in an extraordinary way, and I can see the influence of Philip of Poitiers in the design.’

Torfida gulped a little; Harold stiffened, expecting the worst.

The King looked at his architect.

Teinfrith looked back, his eyebrows slightly raised. ‘Do you know these churches, young woman?’

‘Sire, I know a little of the work of Maître Thiebault at Jumièges. It is a fine church and will soon be finished.’

‘Indeed it will. But you are not a mason. How do you know so much about the architecture of cathedrals?’

‘I have studied the work of the architect Isidor of Miletus, and the mathematician Arthamius of Thralles; I have seen their magnificent legacy, the Hagia Sofia. Mathematics is one of my specialities.’

Teinfrith was astonished; the King looked at him and he nodded, confirming the accuracy of Torfida’s information.

Edward turned back to Torfida. ‘And your other “specialities”, besides mathematics?’

‘Sire, theology, languages, metaphysics and philosophy, natural sciences and, of course, history, especially English history.’ Torfida looked at the floor uncomfortably, realizing her immodesty.

The King stepped towards her and looked at her with obvious curiosity. ‘What is the Latin genus of the great elm?’

‘ Ulmus , sire.’

The King’s second question was delivered in Latin. ‘Who was Emperor of the Romans after Trajan the Great?’

‘Hadrian, sire.’

The King then asked in Greek. ‘Who wrote the tragedy Prometheus Bound ?’

‘Aeschylus, sire, sometime after 460 BC.’

‘Remarkable. There are only a handful of men in England who could answer those questions. Where did you acquire your knowledge?’

‘My father was a very learned man. He was priest to your mother, Queen Emma.’

‘How intriguing. If you are referring to the man I think you are, then I knew your father very well; until, of course, he was excommunicated. You must be his bastard child.’

‘I am, sire. He took me into the forest and raised me there until I was a grown woman. Then he sent me to the nuns at Hereford.’

‘I often wondered what became of Father Waltheof; he was a very good friend. He was fluent in Norman and helped me to improve my English and my Norse. We spoke about many things… until his dalliance with one of the ladies-in-waiting caused a furore at court.’

Torfida was hearing her father’s real name for the first time. ‘Queen Emma was good to my father. She let him have books, and she sent him regular messages.’

The entourage around the King began to shuffle uncomfortably; time was passing and this was an unexpected delay to the schedule.

Harold took a gamble. ‘Sire, would you like to retire to the Chapter House? You can sit there and talk a little more with Torfida.’

The King seemed to recognize the Earl of Wessex’s ploy, but agreed anyway. Leaving his entourage, the King withdrew to the Chapter House with Torfida a pace behind. Harold kept the King’s retinue at a distance, so that Torfida could speak to him in private. Edward’s sour demeanour sweetened a little; his deathly pallor became brighter.

‘Your father had such wisdom and knowledge, he inspired me. I could have prevented his banishment, but he bore a huge burden of guilt about his fall from grace and refused all help from me or the Queen.’ Edward looked at Torfida with a hint of a smile. ‘Your mother was very beautiful, you know. I’m sorry she died bringing you into the world.’

‘My father raised me and gave me his knowledge. My Lord King, I have been blessed; I may even have acquired a little of his wisdom.’

‘Perhaps, but your choice of husband, this renegade Hereward, says little for your wisdom.’

‘My King, I do not wish to vex you.’

‘That is a risk you will have to take if we are to continue our discourse.’

‘Sire, my father spent a long time with Hereward in the wildwood. My father helped him come to terms with his past and to find his destiny. Knowing that Hereward and I were destined to meet, he asked Hereward to be the bearer of a talisman and sent him to me. We now carry that talisman together on a journey to find the man who is destined to wear it.’ Torfida reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out the Talisman.

‘I wondered if that trinket might reappear some day. Your father was always fond of the mysterious ways of the past. My mother told me she had given it to Walthoef. She recounted its legends many times and tried to convince me of its power.’

‘Sire, it has guided me to you.’

‘Madam, it is a pagan amulet of no consequence.’

‘Sire, I beg you to let me contradict you. It will be of no consequence only when men understand how to govern themselves without resort to violence. Whether it be a holy relic, an amulet or a cross, as a symbol of faith and truth it can help people make decisions about right and wrong. When we know how to make those decisions without symbols, we will discard them; until then, we need them.’

The King’s voice rose. ‘You sound like your father. His views came close to heresy; so do yours.’

‘My words do not deny God. They reinforce the teaching of the Church, but place the onus of responsibility on our actions and our choices.’

Edward stared up at the ceiling of his Chapter House. ‘As my reign was about to begin, my mother asked me to wear your Talisman. She said it would help me understand myself and give me the wisdom to solve the problems I would confront.’

‘But you chose not to, Sire?’

‘Yes. For me it was very simple; I knew what I wanted to do. My life in Normandy taught me many things. The Saxons are brave and noble people; I am one of them, of Cerdician blood, but they can be brutish and insular and I am determined to direct their future towards Europe. I am also of Norman blood and I can see how the two traditions can complement one another.’

‘Sire, I too have lived with the Normans; there is much about them that is brutal.’

‘Certainly. They were Vikings once, but they have lived on the European mainland for several generations and they have changed, as the Saxons must change.’