A Source Book of Mediaeval History Part 29

The courageous leaders mutually prepared for battle, each according to his national custom. The English pa.s.sed the night[338] without sleep, in drinking and singing, and in the morning proceeded without delay against the enemy. All on foot, armed with battle-axes, and covering themselves in front by joining their shields, they formed an impenetrable body which would a.s.suredly have secured their safety that day had not the Normans, by a pretended flight, induced them to open their ranks, which until that time, according to their custom, had been closely knit together. King Harold himself, on foot, stood with his brothers near the standard in order that, so long as all shared equal danger, none could think of retreating. This same standard William sent, after his victory, to the Pope. It was richly embroidered with gold and precious stones, and represented the figure of a man fighting.

[Sidenote: How the Normans prepared]

On the other hand, the Normans pa.s.sed the whole night in confessing their sins, and received the communion of the Lord's body in the morning. Their infantry, with bows and arrows, formed the vanguard, while their cavalry, divided into wings, was placed in the rear.

The duke, with serene countenance, declaring aloud that G.o.d would favor his as being the righteous side, called for his arms; and when, through the haste of his attendants, he had put on his hauberk[339] the rear part before, he corrected the mistake with a laugh, saying, "The power of my dukedom shall be turned into a kingdom." Then starting the song of Roland,[340] in order that the warlike example of that hero might stimulate the soldiers, and calling on G.o.d for a.s.sistance, the battle commenced on both sides, and was fought with great ardor, neither side yielding ground during the greater part of the day.

[Sidenote: William's strategem]

Observing this, William gave a signal to his troops, that, pretending flight, they should withdraw from the field.[341] By means of this device the solid phalanx of the English opened for the purpose of cutting down the fleeing enemy and thus brought upon itself swift destruction; for the Normans, facing about, attacked them, thus disordered, and compelled them to fly. In this manner, deceived by stratagem, they met an honorable death in avenging their country; nor indeed were they at all without their own revenge, for, by frequently making a stand, they slaughtered their pursuers in heaps. Getting possession of a higher bit of ground, they drove back the Normans, who in the heat of pursuit were struggling up the slope, into the valley beneath, where, by hurling their javelins and rolling down stones on them as they stood below, the English easily destroyed them to a man. Besides, by a short pa.s.sage with which they were acquainted, they avoided a deep ditch and trod underfoot such a mult.i.tude of their enemies in that place that the heaps of bodies made the hollow level with the plain. This alternating victory, first of one side and then of the other, continued as long as Harold lived to check the retreat; but when he fell, his brain pierced by an arrow, the flight of the English ceased not until night.[342]

[Sidenote: The valor of Harold]

In the battle both leaders distinguished themselves by their bravery. Harold, not content with the duties of a general and with exhorting others, eagerly a.s.sumed himself the work of a common soldier. He was constantly striking down the enemy at close quarters, so that no one could approach him with impunity, for straightway both horse and rider would be felled by a single blow.

So it was at long range, as I have said, that the enemy's deadly arrow brought him to his death. One of the Norman soldiers gashed his thigh with a sword, as he lay prostrate; for which shameful and cowardly action he was branded with ignominy by William and expelled from the army.

[Sidenote: William's bravery and ardor]

William, too, was equally ready to encourage his soldiers by his voice and by his presence, and to be the first to rush forward to attack the thickest of the foe. He was everywhere fierce and furious. He lost three choice horses, which were that day killed under him. The dauntless spirit and vigor of the intrepid general, however, still held out. Though often called back by the thoughtful remonstrance of his bodyguard, he still persisted until approaching night crowned him with complete victory. And no doubt the hand of G.o.d so protected him that the enemy could draw no blood from his person, though they aimed so many javelins at him.

This was a fatal day to England, and melancholy havoc was wrought in our dear country during the change of its lords.[343] For it had long before adopted the manners of the Angles, which had indeed altered with the times; for in the first years of their arrival they were barbarians in their look and manner, warlike in their usages, heathen in their rites.

[Sidenote: Religious zeal of the Saxons before the Conquest]

After embracing the faith of Christ, by degrees and, in process of time, in consequence of the peace which they enjoyed, they consigned warfare to a secondary place and gave their whole attention to religion. I am not speaking of the poor, the meanness of whose fortune often restrains them from overstepping the bounds of justice; I omit, too, men of ecclesiastical rank, whom sometimes respect for their profession and sometimes the fear of shame suffers not to deviate from the true path; I speak of princes, who from the greatness of their power might have full liberty to indulge in pleasure. Some of these in their own country, and others at Rome, changing their habit, obtained a heavenly kingdom and a saintly fellowship. Many others during their whole lives devoted themselves in outward appearance to worldly affairs, but in order that they might expend their treasures on the poor or divide them amongst monasteries.

What shall I say of the mult.i.tudes of bishops, hermits, and abbots?

Does not the whole island blaze with such numerous relics of its own people that you can scarcely pa.s.s a village of any consequence without hearing the name of some new saint? And of how many more has all remembrance perished through the want of records?

[Sidenote: Recent decline of learning and religion]

Nevertheless, the attention to literature and religion had gradually decreased for several years before the arrival of the Normans. The clergy, contented with a little confused learning, could scarcely stammer out the words of the sacraments; and a person who understood grammar was an object of wonder and astonishment.[344] The monks mocked the rule of their order by fine vestments and the use of every kind of food. The n.o.bility, given up to luxury and wantonness, went not to church in the morning after the manner of Christians, but merely, in a careless manner, heard matins and ma.s.ses from a hurrying priest in their chambers, amid the blandishments of their wives. The community, left unprotected, became a prey to the most powerful, who ama.s.sed fortunes, either by seizing on their property or by selling their persons into foreign countries; although it is characteristic of this people to be more inclined to reveling than to the acc.u.mulation of wealth.

[Sidenote: The English people described]

Drinking in parties was an universal practice, in which occupation they pa.s.sed entire nights as well as days. They consumed their whole substance in mean and despicable houses, unlike the Normans and French, who live frugally in n.o.ble and splendid mansions. The vices attendant on drunkenness, which enervate the human mind, followed; hence it came about that when they resisted William, with more rashness and precipitate fury than military skill, they doomed themselves and their country to slavery by a single, and that an easy, victory.[345] For nothing is less effective than rashness; and what begins with violence quickly ceases or is repelled. The English at that time wore short garments, reaching to the mid-knee; they had their hair cropped, their beards shaven, their arms laden with golden bracelets, their skin adorned with tattooed designs.

They were accustomed to eat until they became surfeited, and to drink until they were sick. These latter qualities they imparted to their conquerors; as for the rest, they adopted their manners. I would not, however, have these bad characteristics ascribed to the English universally; I know that many of the clergy at that day trod the path of sanct.i.ty by a blameless life. I know that many of the laity, of all ranks and conditions, in this nation were well-pleasing to G.o.d. Be injustice far from this account; the accusation does not involve the whole, indiscriminately. But as in peace the mercy of G.o.d often cherishes the bad and the good together, so, equally, does His severity sometimes include them both in captivity.

[Sidenote: A description of the Normans]

The Normans--that I may speak of them also--were at that time, and are even now, exceedingly particular in their dress and delicate in their food, but not so to excess. They are a race accustomed to war, and can hardly live without it; fierce in rushing against the enemy, and, where force fails to succeed, ready to use stratagem or to corrupt by bribery. As I have said, they live in s.p.a.cious houses with economy, envy their superiors, wish to excel their equals, and plunder their subjects, though they defend them from others; they are faithful to their lords, though a slight offense alienates them. They weigh treachery by its chance of success, and change their sentiments for money. The most hospitable, however, of all nations, they esteem strangers worthy of equal honor with themselves; they also intermarry with their va.s.sals. They revived, by their arrival, the rule of religion which had everywhere grown lifeless in England.[346] You might see churches rise in every village, and monasteries in the towns and cities, built after a style unknown before; you might behold the country flourishing with renewed rites; so that each wealthy man accounted that day lost to him which he had neglected to signalize by some beneficent act.

41. William the Conqueror as Man and as King

In the following pa.s.sage, taken from the Saxon Chronicle, we have an interesting summary of the character of the Conqueror and of his conduct as king of England. Both the good and bad sides of the picture are clearly brought out and perhaps it is not quite easy to say which is given the greater prominence. On the one hand there is William's devotion to the Church, his establishment of peace and order, his mildness in dealing with all but those who had antagonized him, and the virtue of his personal life; on the other is his severity, rapacity, and pride, his heavy taxes and his harsh forest laws. As one writer says, "the Conquest was bad as well as good for England; but the harm was only temporary, the good permanent." It is greatly to the credit of the English chronicler that he was able to deal so fairly with the character of one whom he had not a few patriotic reasons for maligning.

Source--_The Saxon Chronicle._ Translated by J. A. Giles (London, 1847), pp. 461-462.

[Sidenote: William's religious zeal]

If any one would know what manner of man King William was, the glory that he obtained, and of how many lands he was lord, then will we describe him as we have known him, we who have looked upon him and who once lived at his court. This King William, of whom we are speaking, was a very wise and a great man, and more honored and more powerful than any of his predecessors. He was mild to those good men who loved G.o.d, but severe beyond measure towards those who withstood his will. He founded a n.o.ble monastery on the spot where G.o.d permitted him to conquer England, and he established monks in it, and he made it very rich.[347] In his days the great monastery at Canterbury was built,[348] and many others also throughout England; moreover, this land was filled with monks who lived after the rule of St. Benedict; and such was the state of religion in his days that all who would might observe that which was prescribed by their respective orders.

[Sidenote: His strong government]

King William was also held in much reverence. He wore his crown three times every year when he was in England: at Easter he wore it at Winchester,[349] at Pentecost at Westminster,[350] and at Christmas at Gloucester.[351] And at these times all the men of England were with him, archbishops, bishops, abbots and earls, thanes[352] and knights.[353] So also was he a very stern and a wrathful man, so that none durst do anything against his will, and he kept in prison those earls who acted against his pleasure. He removed bishops from their sees[354] and abbots from their offices, and he imprisoned thanes, and at length he spared not his own brother Odo. This Odo was a very powerful bishop in Normandy. His see was that of Bayeux,[355] and he was foremost to serve the king.

He had an earldom in England, and when William was in Normandy he [Odo] was the first man in this country [England], and him did William cast into prison.[356]

[Sidenote: The extent of his power]

Amongst other things, the good order that William established is not to be forgotten. It was such that any man, who was himself aught, might travel over the kingdom with a bosom full of gold unmolested; and no man durst kill another, however great the injury he might have received from him. He reigned over England, and being sharp-sighted to his own interest, he surveyed the kingdom so thoroughly that there was not a single hide of land throughout the whole of which he knew not the possessor, and how much it was worth, and this he afterwards entered in his register.[357] The land of the Britons [Wales] was under his sway, and he built castles therein; moreover he had full dominion over the Isle of Man;[358] Scotland also was subject to him, from his great strength; the land of Normandy was his by inheritance, and he possessed the earldom of Maine;[359] and had he lived two years longer, he would have subdued Ireland by his prowess, and that without a battle.[360]

[Sidenote: His faults as a ruler]

Truly there was much trouble in these times, and very great distress. He caused castles to be built and oppressed the poor. The king was also of great sternness, and he took from his subjects many marks of gold, and many hundred pounds of silver, and this, either with or without right, and with little need. He was given to avarice, and greedily loved gain.[361] He made large forests for the deer, and enacted laws therewith, so that whoever killed a hart or a hind should be blinded. As he forbade killing the deer, so also the boars; and he loved the tall stags as if he were their father. He also commanded concerning the hares, that they should go free.[362] The rich complained and the poor murmured, but he was so st.u.r.dy that he recked nought of them; they must will all that the king willed, if they would live, or would keep their lands, or would hold their possessions, or would be maintained in their rights. Alas that any man should so exalt himself, and carry himself in his pride over all! May Almighty G.o.d show mercy to his soul, and grant him the forgiveness of his sins! We have written concerning him these things, both good and bad, that virtuous men may follow after the good, and wholly avoid the evil, and may go in the way that leadeth to the kingdom of heaven.

FOOTNOTES:

[338] Friday night, October 13.

[339] A long coat of mail made of interwoven metal rings.

[340] Roland, count of Brittany, was slain at the pa.s.s of Roncesvalles in the famous attack of the Gascons upon Charlemagne's retreating army in 778. One of the chronicles says simply, "In this battle Roland, count of Brittany, was slain," and we have absolutely no other historical knowledge of the man. His career was taken up by the singers of the Middle Ages, however, and employed to typify all that was brave and daring and romantic. It was some one of the many "songs of Roland" that William used at Hastings to stimulate his men.

[341] In a battle so closely contested this was a dangerous stratagem and its employment seems to indicate that William despaired of defeating the English by direct attack. His main object, in which he was altogether successful, was to entice the English into abandoning their advantageous position on the hilltop.

[342] After the Norman victory was practically a.s.sured, William sought to bring the battle to an end by having his archers shoot into the air, that their arrows might fall upon the group of soldiers, including the king, who were holding out in defense of the English standard. It was in this way that Harold was mortally wounded; he died immediately from the blows inflicted by Norman knights at close hand.

[343] The victory at Hastings did not at once make William king, but it revealed to both himself and the English people that the crown was easily within his grasp. After the battle he advanced past London into the interior of the country. Opposition melted before him and on Christmas day, 1066, the Norman duke, having already been regularly elected by the witan, was crowned at London by the archbishop of York.

In the early years of his reign he succeeded in making his power recognized in the more turbulent north.

[344] The work of Alfred had not been consistently followed up during the century and a half since his death [see p. 185].

[345] The conquest of England by the Normans was really far from an enslavement. Norman rule was strict, but hardly more so than conditions warranted.

[346] It seems to be true, as William of Malmesbury says, that the century preceding the Norman Conquest had been an era of religious as well as literary decline among the English. After 1066 the native clergy, ignorant and often grossly immoral, were gradually replaced by Normans, who on the whole were better men. By 1088 there remained only one bishop of English birth in the entire kingdom. One should be careful, however, not to exaggerate the moral differences between the two peoples.

[347] The story goes that just before entering the battle of Hastings in 1066 William made a vow that if successful he would establish a monastery on the site where Harold's standard stood. The vow was fulfilled by the founding of the Abbey of St. Martin, or Battle Abbey, in the years 1070-1076. The monastery was not ready for consecration until 1094.

[348] Christchurch. This cathedral monastery had been organized before the Conqueror's day, but it was much increased in size and in importance by Lanfranc, William's archbishop of Canterbury; and the great building which it occupied in the later Middle Ages was constructed at this time.

[349] In Hampshire, in the southern part of the kingdom.

[350] In Middles.e.x, near London.

[351] On the Severn, in the modern county of Gloucester.

[352] A thane (or thegn) was originally a young warrior; then one who became a n.o.ble by serving the king in arms; then the possessor of five hides of land. A hide was a measure of arable ground varying in extent at the time of William the Conqueror, but by Henry II.'s reign (1154-1189) fixed at about 100 acres. The thane before the Conquest occupied nearly the same position socially as the knight after it.