Stewart Binns - Conquest

Hereward took two breaths, then spoke with the strained voice of a man struggling to control his rage. ‘You have until noon tomorrow. Any man still in the city by then will, by his presence, recognize Prince Edgar as the future King of England and accept my authority over all the forces loyal to the Atheling. If any man still here does not so recognize and accept, I will split him asunder with this axe, so help me God! Now go, all of you!’

Hereward wrenched the Great Axe from the table and held it out in front of him. He glared at Cospatrick, willing him to challenge him there and then, but the Earl turned and left. The Council emptied slowly and in silence. Hereward grasped the Talisman and sighed.

He tried to summon up Torfida’s image; he needed her blessing if he was to face what lay ahead.

The council gathered again at midday the next day and, to everyone’s relief, all were present, including Cospatrick and Waltheof.

Hereward stood and addressed the Council once more. ‘Prince Edgar, with your permission.’

The Aetheling signalled his approval.

‘My Lords, I thank you all for returning here today. Edmund of Kent, standard-bearer of my hearthtroop, has some news that will gladden your hearts and quicken your pulses. My Lords, news has arrived from Martin Lightfoot’s corps of messengers. Eadric the Wild sends his greetings to all here and lends his unqualified support to me as leader of England’s vanguard. His attacks continue throughout Mercia and will go on until our objective is achieved. He has over a thousand men under his command, including five hundred Welsh supporters from the Princes of Powys and Gwynedd, and he looks forward to joining us whenever we choose. Prince Godwin, son of King Harold, will set sail for the South West from Dublin within the week. He promises sixty ships and three thousand men.

‘Finally, Edwin has returned from Denmark. We have an answer from Svein Estrithson, King of the Danes: he will set sail as soon as his fleet can be assembled, probably by August. Led by his brother, Osbjorn, a fine warrior of great repute, he will send two hundred and fifty ships and seven thousand men.’

There was an astonished silence around the room as men looked at one another in disbelief at so much good news from all quarters. Hereward had known since dawn, when Edmund and Edwin had woken him with the reports. His fury at the discord of the night before had had its effect. Now, all factions listened intently, waiting to hear what his next move would be.

Suddenly, without warning, the door of the hall was thrown open.

A breathless sergeant-at-arms called out to Hereward. ‘Forgive me, sir, a messenger has just arrived at the gates of the city. Duke William is on the march and has been for three days. He moves with great speed and is already at Nottingham with three thousand cavalry.’

‘Thank you, Sergeant.’ Hereward was impressed at the speed of William’s response, and had to think quickly. ‘Gentlemen, we are not in a position to stand against the Normans. We need more men and more time. We must conserve our strength. Martin, send for your messengers. Thank everyone for their noble support and summon all forces loyal to Edgar to assemble in the Forest of Arden on Midsummer’s Day for an attack on Nottingham. There we will wait for the Danes before we advance on London and the South. Until the agreed rendezvous, we will become like the men of the forest: unseen and unheard to all but ourselves.’

It was Edgar the Atheling who asked the obvious question. ‘But what of William’s advancing army?’

‘Let him advance; we will be long gone by the time he gets here.’

Unable to contain himself, Cospatrick bellowed at Hereward. ‘Gone! But what of the people of York?’

‘I am sorry, my Lord Cospatrick, but we have no choice. If we face William and three thousand of his heavy cavalry, he will destroy us. It will be the end for our cause.’

‘But left to the Bastard’s mercy, it could mean death for thousands in York.’

‘What else would you have me do, my Lord?’

Cospatrick stared at Hereward forlornly, reluctant to accept his decision, but knowing that he was right.

‘I suggest that we are all gone by midday tomorrow. The people of the city and its surroundings must be warned and all who can leave should do so; for the rest, we can only pray for them. Return to your strongholds. I will send regular messages to all of you.

‘Until we meet again in Mercia on Midsummer’s Day, have faith in our cause, stay strong and keep your resolve.’

Led by William himself and several of his most able lieutenants, including William Fitzbern, Gilbert of Ghent and William Malet, the Norman army arrived in York only forty-eight hours after the English rebels had dispersed. Furious to find that his opponents had vanished, he immediately sent out squadrons to hunt them down and began to build a towering motte to impose his will on the population. However, on this occasion, he refrained from meting out his usual draconian punishments to the people of the city.

Cospatrick was not so fortunate. Having not met anyone as rapacious as William before, his force dawdled on its route back to Durham and was caught in the open near Thirsk by several Norman squadrons. Cospatrick got away, but most of his men were ruthlessly cut down, their heads brought back to York in baskets and hurled into the streets as a warning to the inhabitants.

Two days later, a similar fate befell a large group of King Malcolm’s Scots. They had meandered into the Vale of Pickering in search of plunder and were set upon in their camp at dawn. Most of them were killed and their severed heads were added to the morbid collection of English skulls littering York’s thoroughfares. When, a few days later, the Normans granted permission, the monks and nuns of York collected more than 1,000 heads for burial. Fortunately, Waltheof, Siward Bjorn and the other Saxon earls from the South had accompanied Edgar the Atheling and the remaining Scots on a more direct route northwards and had made it to Durham safely.

‘Stupid! Utterly stupid!’ Hereward paced up and down in rage and disbelief when news reached him of the shambles of the withdrawal from York. ‘I told them to melt away! It’s a disaster – a stupid, reckless disaster. No man will ever cross me again; no man will ever countermand my order, or ignore my instructions. No one!’

A decision was made to break the forward camp at Skipton and return to Clitheroe. Einar was commanded to send some men up Pen Hill. Hereward’s instructions were clear: ‘Make sure they have good eyes and are not afraid of whatever spirits you say live up there. Tell them that they must return immediately if there are any signs of Norman movement. If the danger is imminent, they must light a beacon.’

During the days that followed, Hereward called another meeting of his senior warriors. A messenger had arrived from York with news that the city was calm. Malet, Ghent and Fitzsbern remained, but the Duke had returned to Winchester for his Easter crown-wearing.

Hereward opened the meeting with a bold change of plan. ‘Gentlemen, William’s audacity has surprised us once again. This, combined with the ill-discipline of our forces, leads me to conclude that a different strategy is required. We will stay here for the time being and begin an exhaustive training regime. If we are to be let down by our comrades again, we must have an elite force here. Contrary to what was agreed at the Council, we are going to split our attacks. The squabbles between us in York made it clear that, for the time being, acting as one army is going to be well-nigh impossible.

‘I think we can rely on Eadric the Wild, and we can certainly depend on Waltheof and Siward Bjorn and the other Saxon earls, so the Atheling must stay with them. Send word to Waltheof of our plans and be adamant that, when he next comes south, he must insist that the Scots stay at home – unless he can rely on them totally. The rendezvous in the Forest of Arden is cancelled. Our new strategy is to wait for news of the Danes. When they are sighted, Waltheof, Siward and the others are to come south to York with the Atheling. We will go south to meet Eadric at Chester. At the same time, we will encourage Harold’s sons to launch another challenge in the South West. We will then be in effective control of the North, with William being harassed in the South West. If Edgar then joins forces with the Danes and declares himself King at York, that will entice William to attack. Edgar and the Danes will be ready for him and, with Eadric’s help, we will move quickly across Mercia to block the Duke’s retreat south. Your comments, gentlemen.’