From Belt and Spur, Stories of the Knights of the Middle Ages from the Old Chronicles, by E. L. S. (Emma L. Seeley), New York: Scribner and Welford, 1883; pp. 1-11.
CHAPTER I.
HOW DUKE WILLIAM AND HIS KNIGHTS LANDED IN ENGLAND.
Now Duke William was in his park at Rouen, and in his hands held a bow ready strung, for he was going hunting, and many knights and squires with him. And behold, there came to the gate a messenger from England; and he went straight to the Duke and drew him aside, and told him secretly how King Edward’s life had come to an end, and Harold had been made king in his stead. And when the Duke had heard the tidings, and understood all that was come to pass, those that looked upon him perceived that he was greatly enraged, for he forsook the chase, and went in silence, speaking no word to any man, clasping and unclasping his cloak, neither dared any man speak to him; but he crossed over the Seine in a boat, and went to his hall, and sat down on a bench; and he covered his face with a mantle, and leant down his head, and there he abode, turning 2 about restlessly for one hour after another in gloomy thought. And none dared speak a word to him, but they spake to one another, saying, ‘What ails the Duke? Why bears he such a mien?’ Then there came in his seneschal riding from the park, and he went through the hall humming a song, and passed by the Duke; and there came many to him, asking him wherefore the Duke did so. And he answered them, ‘You will hear the tidings soon, but be not in haste, for it is sure to leak out in time.’ Then the Duke raised himself, and the seneschal came to him and said, ‘Why conceal your tidings, sire, for if we know it not now, we shall hear it soon, and you will gain nothing by hiding it, nor lose by telling it; and though you may take great pains to hide it, all the town knows it? For they go about this city, little and great, saying that King Edward has passed away, and Harold is become king, and has received the kingdom.’
‘That is it that troubles me,’ said told the Duke. ‘I grieve because Edward is dead, and that Harold has done me wrong; for he has taken my kingdom who was bound to me by oath and promise.’
To these words answered FitzOsbern the bold, ‘Sir, tarry not, but make ready with speed to avenge yourself on Harold, who has been disloyal to you; for if you lack not courage, there will be left no land to Harold. Summon all whom you may summon, cross the sea and seize his lands; for no brave man should begin a matter and not carry it on to the end.’
Then William sent messengers to Harold to call 3 upon him to keep the oath that he had sworn; but Harold replied in scorn that he would not marry his daughter, nor give up his land to him. And William sent to him his defiance; but Harold answered, that he feared him not, and he drove all the Normans out of the land, with their wives and children, for King Edward had given them lands and castles, but Harold chased them out of the country; neither would he let one remain. And at Christmas he took the crown, but it would have been well for himself and his land if he had not been crowned, since for the kingdom he perjured himself, and his reign lasted but a short space.
Then Duke William called together his barons, and told them all his will, and how Harold had wronged him, and that he would cross the sea and revenge himself; but without their aid he could not gather men enough, nor a large navy, therefore he would know of each one of them how many men and ships he would bring. And they prayed for leave to take counsel together, and the Duke granted their request. And their deliberations lasted long, for many complained that their burdens were heavy, and some said that they would bring ships and cross the sea with the Duke, and others said they would not go, for they were in debt and poor. Thus some would and some would not, and there was great contention between them.
Then FitzOsbern came to them and said, ‘Wherefore dispute you, sirs? Ye should not fail your natural lord when he goes seeking honour. Ye owe him service for your fiefs, and where ye owe service 4 ye should serve with all your power. Ask not delay, nor wait until he prays you; but go before, and offer him more than you can do. Let him not lament that his enterprise failed for your remissness.’
But they answered, ‘Sir, we fear the sea, and we owe no service across the sea. Speak for us, we pray you, and answer in our stead. Say what you will, and we will abide by your words.’
‘Will ye all leave yourselves to me?’ he said. And each one answered, ‘Yes. Let us go to the Duke, and you shall speak for us.’
And FitzOsbern turned himself about and went before them to the Duke, and spoke for them, and he said, ‘Sir, no lord has such men as you have, and who will do so much for their lord’s honour, and you ought to love and keep them well. For you they say they would be drowned in the sea or thrown into the fire. You may trust them well, for they have served you long and followed you at great cost. And if they have done well, they will do better; for they will pass the sea with you, and will double their service. For he who should bring twenty knights will gladly bring forty, and he who should serve you with thirty will bring sixty, and he from whom one hundred is due will willingly bring two hundred. And I, in loving loyalty, will bring in my lord’s business sixty ships, well arrayed and laden with fighting men.’
But the barons marvelled at him, and murmured aloud at the words that he spake and the promises he made, for which they had given him no warrant. And many contradicted him, and there arose a noise 5 and loud disturbance among them; for they feared that if they doubled their service it would become a custom, and be turned into a feudal right. And the noise and outcry became so great that a man could not hear what his fellow said. Then the Duke went aside, for the noise displeased him, and sent for the barons one by one, and spoke to each one of the greatness of the enterprise, and that if they would double their service, and do freely more than their due, it should be well for them, and that he would never make it a custom, nor require of them any service more than was the usage of the country, and such as their ancestors had paid to their lord. Then each one said he would do it, and he told how many ships he could bring, and the Duke had them all written down in brief. Bishop Odo, his brother, brought him forty ships, and the Bishop of Le Mans prepared thirty, with their mariners and pilots. And the Duke prayed his neighbours of Brittany, Anjou, and Maine, Ponthieu, and Boulogne, to aid him in this business; and he promised them lands if England were conquered, and rich gifts and large pay. Thus from all sides came soldiers to him.
Then he showed the matter to his lord the King of France, and he sought him at St. Germer, and found him there; and he said that if he would aid him, so that by his aid he won his right, he would hold England from him and serve him for it. But the King answered that he would not aid him, neither with his will should he pass the sea; for the French prayed him not to aid him, saying he was too strong 6 already, and that if he let him add riches from over the sea to his lands of Normandy and all his good knights, there would never be peace. ‘And when England shall be conquered,’ said they, ‘you will hear no more of his service. He pays little service now, but then it will be less. The more he has, the less he will do.’
So the Duke took leave of the King, and came away in a rage, saying, ‘Sir, I go to do the best I can, and if God will that I gain my right you shall see me no more but for evil. And if I fail, and the English can defend themselves, my children shall inherit my lands, and thou shalt not conquer them. Living or dead, I fear no menace.’
Then he prayed to the Count of Flanders, as his friend and brother-in-law, to come and aid him; and the Count answered that he would know first how much he should have of England, and what part it would be. And to that the Duke answered that he would take counsel of his barons, and send him answer by letter. But when he came home he did a thing such as was never done before; for he took a little piece of parchment on which was neither writing nor letter, and he sealed it up, all blank as it was, and wrote outside that he would give him as much of England as was written within. And he gave it to a servant who had been long with him, and he brought it to the Count. And the Count broke the seal and spread open the parchment, and looked within; but when he found nothing, he showed it to the messenger. And the servant answered courteously, 7 ‘There is nothing within: nothing will you have.’ I know not what the Count answered, but the servant took his leave.
Then the Duke sent to Rome clerks that were skilled in speech, and they told the Pope how Harold had sworn falsely, and that Duke William promised that if he conquered England he would hold it of St. Peter. And the Pope sent him a standard and a very precious ring, and underneath the stone there was, it is said, a hair of St. Peter’s. And about that time there appeared a great star shining in the south with very long rays, such a star as is seen when a kingdom is about to have a new king. I have spoken with many men who saw it, and those who are cunning in the stars call it a comet.
Then the Duke called together carpenters and shipbuilders, and in all the ports of Normandy there was sawing of planks and carrying of wood, spreading of sails and setting up of masts, with great labour and industry. Thus all the summer long and through the month of August they made ready the fleet and assembled the men; for there was no knight in all the land, nor any good sergeant, nor archer, nor any peasant of good courage of age to fight whom the Duke did not summon to go with him to England.
When the ships were ready they were anchored in the Somme at St. Valery, and there came men to the Duke from many parts. There came Hamon, the Viscount of Thouars, a man of great power, and served by many; and Alan Fergant, who had great lands in Brittany; and Bertran FitzPeleit, and the 8 Lord of Dinan, and Raoul of Gael. And there came many a Breton from many a castle, and they of Brecheliant, of which the Bretons tell that there is a forest there, great and large, and much famed in Brittany, where the fountain of Berenton rises. There in times of great heat the hunters go, and, filling their horns with the water, pour it out on the rock, and then it rains all around the forest, I know not why. And there, too, fairies may be seen, if the Bretons speak the truth, and many other marvels; and it is wild with great plenty of large stags, but the peasant has forsaken it. Here I went once seeking marvels, and I saw the forest and the land, and sought for marvels, but found none; a fool I went, and a fool returned.
And as the renown of the Duke went abroad there came to him soldiers one by one, or two by two, and the Duke kept them with him, and promised them much. And some asked for lands in England, and others pay and large gifts. But I will not write down what barons, knights, and soldiers, the Duke had in his company, but I have heard my father say (I remember it well, though I was but a boy) that there were seven hundred ships save four when they left St. Valery — ships, and boats, and little skiffs. But I found it written (I know not the truth) that there were three thousand ships carrying sails and masts.
And at St. Valery they tarried long for a favourable wind, and the barons grew weary with waiting; and they prayed those of the convent to bring out to camp the shrine of St. Valery, and they came to 9 it and prayed that they might cross the sea, and they offered money till all the holy body was covered with it, and the same day there sprang up a favourable wind. Then the Duke put a lantern on the mast of his ship, that the other ships might see it and keep their course near, and an ensign of gilded copper on the top, and at the head of the ship, which mariners call the prow, there was a child made of copper holding a bow and arrow, and he had his face toward England, and seemed about to shoot.
Thus the ships came to a port, and they all arrived together and anchored together, and they ran them together on the beach, and together they all disembarked. And it was near Hastings, and the ships lay side by side. And the good sailors, and sergeants, and esquires sprang out, and cast the anchors, and fastened the ships with ropes; and they brought out their shields and saddles, and led forth the horses. The archers were the first to came to land, every one with his bow bent and his quiver and arrows by his side, all shaven and dressed in short tunics, ready for battle, and of good courage; and they searched all the beach, but no armed man could they find. When they were issued forth, then came the knights in armour, with helmet laced and shield on neck, and together they came to the sand and mounted their war-horses; and they had their swords at their sides, and rode with lances raised. The barons had their standards and the knights their pennons. After them came the carpenters, with their axes in their hands and their tools hanging by their side. And when 10 they came to the archers and to the knights they took counsel together, and brought wood from the ships and fastened it together with bolts and bars, and before the evening was well come they had made themselves a strong fort. And they lighted fires and cooked food, and the Duke and his barons and knights sat down to eat; and they all ate and drank plentifully, and rejoiced that they were come to land.
Now before the Duke was departed from the Somme there came to him a clerk learned in astronomy and necromancy, and he esteemed himself a seer, and foretold many things. And he had foretold to the Duke that he would pass the sea safely, and accomplish his design without fighting, for Harold would agree to hold the land of the Duke, and to become his liegeman, and that he would return in safety. He divined well about the passage, but about the battle he lied. And when the Duke had passed over, and was returned safely, he remembered the seer, and asked for him. And one of his sailors answered that he was missing, and that it was said he had been drowned by the way. ‘Then,’ said the Duke, ‘his knowledge was not great; he could not prophesy truly of me who knew not his own fate. If he knew the truth of everything, he would have foreseen his death. He is a fool who would fix the end of another and knows not his own time, but takes care for others and forgets himself.’
When the Duke came forth of his ship he fell on his hands to the ground, and there rose a great cry, for all said it was an evil sign; but he cried aloud, 11 ‘Lords, I have seized the land with my two hands, and will never yield it. All is ours.’ Then a man ran to land and laid his hand upon a cottage, and took a handful of the thatch, and returned to the Duke. ‘Sir,’ said he, ‘take seizin of the land; yours is the land without doubt.’
Then the Duke commanded the Mariners to draw all the ships to land, and pierce holes in them, and break them to pieces, for they should never return by the way they had come.