The Challenges of a King, page 20
All the men around the count’s table lowered their own tankards, sensing the threat in the man’s voice.
‘We want no trouble, friend,’ said Eustace, his voice lowering. ‘We will be gone soon enough, so I suggest, for your sake, you let this go.’
For a few moments, there was silence as the docker stared at the count.
‘Nah,’ he said. ‘I am aggrieved, and we need to settle this.’
He got up from his seat but had taken no more than two paces when one of the count’s guards smashed his fist into the side of the docker’s face, sending him plummeting to the floor.
Immediately, pandemonium broke loose, and men flew at the visitors from all directions. Eustace and his guards reacted just as violently, but within moments what had started out as a tavern brawl turned sour when one of the Normans produced a blade from his belt and lunged at the nearest docker.
‘Defend yourselves,’ roared Eustace as the situation deteriorated.
Tables and chairs flew through the air, and the whole tavern turned against them, but the Normans were no strangers to conflict, and they fought back viciously, wreaking havoc amongst their attackers.
One of the dockers launched himself off a table onto the count’s back, but again one of his guards saw the danger and reached around to slit the attacker’s throat. Eustace stared down at the dying man and realised the situation had got way out of hand.
‘We have to get out of here,’ he shouted.
As one, all the Normans retreated towards the door, using their swords and knives to hold back the mob. The braver amongst the dockers threw themselves into the fray, well used to lives of violence, but against experienced men of war they stood little chance, and several were cut down without mercy.
Within moments Eustace and his men emerged from the tavern, battered but still standing.
‘Is everyone here?’ he shouted.
‘All are present,’ replied one of his officers. ‘You mount up, we’ll stay here and hold them back.’
‘We leave together or not at all,’ replied Eustace. ‘Mount up.’
Moments later, Count Eustace of Boulogne and his men galloped away from Dover, leaving a trail of death and destruction behind them.
* * *
The following morning the count and his men returned to the dock, this time protected by their full force of armed men. Two lines of angry dockers watched as they passed, but they reached their ship without incident, and within the hour, Dover was no more than a sour memory receding into the distance. Count Eustace joined one of his officers standing at the stern of the ship.
‘How are the men?’ he asked.
‘One is badly hurt, but he should survive. What about you, has your wound been adequately dressed?’
‘It is but a scratch,’ said the count, holding up a bandaged arm. ‘I have had worse.’
‘Nevertheless,’ said the officer, ‘the fact is that we were attacked by those men while you were a guest of their king. They cannot be allowed to get away with it.’
‘Oh, they won’t,’ said Eustace. ‘I have already sent a message to Edward complaining in the strongest possible terms, and I assure you he will not let this atrocity go unpunished.’
Chapter Twenty-three
Havering Palace, August, AD 1051
Once again, Godwin of Wessex stood before the King of England, and once again, Robert of Jumièges stood at Edward’s side, his face barely concealing a look of contempt.
After the Count of Boulogne had left Dover a few weeks earlier, word had reached the king about the violence, and he had immediately sent a message to Godwin, ordering him to mete out punishment for attacking and hurting his visitors. The retribution was to be brutal so as to make an example to the rest of England that such behaviour would not be tolerated.
However, despite a further two letters reminding the earl of his duties, no such punishment had been carried out, and consequently, Edward had demanded Godwin attend him with a full explanation.
‘Earl Godwin,’ said Bishop Robert, ‘is it normal that any man, whether he be noble or pauper, be allowed to defy their monarch?’
‘Your grace—’ started Godwin, but he was interrupted by the bishop.
‘Just answer the question,’ said Robert. ‘Is it acceptable for any vassal, irrespective of station, to deliberately ignore the direct orders of a king?’
‘You know it is not normal,’ said Godwin, ‘but you also know that to punish a whole town for the crimes of a few is unjust and impractical. It would turn the whole town against the perpetrator and garner hostility for many years to come.’
‘So your refusal to scourge Dover is a decision born of self-preservation?’ said Robert.
‘My decision is one of sensibility and compassion,’ said Godwin. ‘I am, of course, willing to punish the men responsible, but do not forget, five of our own died that night while the Normans got away with little more than cuts and bruises.’
‘I am led to believe that it was the men of Dover who started the fight in the first place,’ interjected the king. ‘Are you saying that our guests were not entitled to defend themselves?’
‘Self-defence does not include the murder of unarmed men,’ said Godwin.
‘Curb your tongue,’ shouted the archbishop, ‘you will not contradict the king.’
‘Your grace,’ continued Godwin, his attention solely focused on the king, ‘you are a fair man, and I do not believe for one moment that it was your idea to punish so many for the crimes of so few. The man who started the fight was not even one of us – he was harbouring overnight and left at the first opportunity the following morning.’
‘So you allowed the main culprit to leave unpunished,’ said Robert. ‘That is even worse.’
‘I did not allow him to leave,’ said Godwin, ‘for as you are well aware, I was elsewhere at the time. The whole town was still in shock, and by the time they had worked out what had happened, he had long gone.’
‘That does not excuse the fact that a town under your control allowed a relative of the king to be treated so,’ said Robert. ‘They need to be punished.’
‘Your grace,’ said Godwin, turning back to the king, ‘five men in the town now lie beneath the soil, their wives and children facing destitution. Is that not punishment enough?’
‘No, it is not,’ said the king coldly.
Godwin stared in shock. He had been hoping to appeal to the king’s sensible side but could now see he was wasting his time. Robert of Jumièges had clouded his mind.
‘Then I know not what more I can do,’ he said.
‘You know exactly what to do,’ said Robert. ‘Scourge the town and make them publicly responsible for this outrage. I suggest burning every tenth house, imposing a guilt tax to be paid by every man, woman and child directly to the king’s treasury, and the immediate execution of all the men involved in that fight.’
Again, Godwin was horrified. He had expected a hefty penalty, but the archbishop was demanding something he could never do.
‘I cannot do that,’ he said.
‘Cannot, or will not?’ asked Robert.
Godwin stared at the archbishop. ‘Archbishop Robert of Jumièges,’ he said coldly, ‘heaven knows I am not a perfect man, and I have made many mistakes in my life, but everything I have done has been with a clear conscience. Never have I killed a man purely out of the desire for petty revenge or to make a point. You, however, despite the trappings of your station, now demand that I murder men in cold blood for nothing more than one of your guests possibly being involved in a fight. I would be careful, your grace, for it seems the longer you live, the further away get the gates of heaven.’
‘That is enough,’ said the king. ‘You came here to answer for your crimes, not to insult my archbishop.’
‘I have committed no crime,’ said Godwin.
‘You refused to carry out the orders of your king,’ said Robert. ‘That is a crime.’
‘If it is,’ said Godwin, ‘then it is one to be judged by the Witan, not by the king’s performing jester.’
‘I have heard enough,’ shouted the king, ‘and this farce will end right now. Earl Godwin, I will ask you once more – will you or will you not punish the people of Dover for their unprovoked attack on the Count of Boulogne?’
‘I will not,’ said Godwin.
‘Then consider yourself in contempt of the royal court. You will answer to the charges before the council at a time and place of my choosing. Until then, I banish you to stay within the boundaries of your own earldom.’
Godwin paused and stared between the king and the bishop as the seriousness of the situation sank in. He knew there was nothing more he could do and realised the best course of action was to get out of there while he still could.
‘Of course, your grace,’ he said with a bow. ‘May I leave?’
‘Yes,’ said the king, ‘get out of here.’
Godwin bowed again and left the audience chamber.
When he was gone, Robert turned to the king.
‘Your grace, you look troubled?’
‘Of course I am troubled,’ said Edward, ‘we have just angered the second most powerful man in England. This is not going to end well.’
‘On the contrary,’ said the archbishop, ‘I believe we have a unique opportunity to put an end to everything that is wrong with this country once and for all.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked the king.
‘What I mean, your grace,’ said the archbishop, ‘is this could be an opportunity to rid England not just of Godwin but his whole family. What is more, if this is done correctly, it is also the opportunity to resolve the situation regarding your lack of an heir. After all, with the Godwins out of the way, I cannot see any reason why Queen Ealdgyth needs to remain at court as your wife.’
‘Let us not get ahead of ourselves, Robert,’ said the king, turning to stare at the closed door, ‘for there are many hurdles to clear first. But I will tell you this – I, for one, have had about as much as I can take.’
* * *
Two days later, Godwin paced the floor in the main hall of Bosham Manor. Sat at the great table in the centre of the hall were his wife Gytha and his sons Sweyn, Gyrth, Leofwine and Wulfnorth.
Only two of their sons were absent – Harold, who was in his own manor in East Anglia, and Tostig, who was due back at any moment after being out on a hunt with some local thegns. But despite his family being desperate to know what was going on, Godwin refused to speak until Tostig was back. Finally, the door opened, and Tostig entered before striding across the hall to join his family.
‘I received a message to come back immediately,’ said Tostig, staring at his father. ‘What is going on?’
‘We don’t know,’ said Sweyn from the table, ‘we were waiting for you.’
‘Sit down,’ said Godwin, ‘I have worrying news.’
Tostig grabbed a jug of ale from another table and sat across from Sweyn.
‘So,’ said Sweyn, staring at Godwin, ‘what’s this all about?’
‘As you know,’ said Godwin, ‘I have recently returned from London, where I was summoned to explain my refusal to scourge Dover. Unfortunately, the meeting did not go as expected, and, despite my explanations, the king, under the influence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, demanded that I carry out his orders forthwith.’
‘But that makes no sense,’ said Gytha, ‘did you explain to him that they were not solely at fault?’
‘I did,’ said Godwin, ‘that and more, but he did not want to hear what I had to say. It was almost as if he knew this was an opportunity to put me under pressure and would not take no for an answer. Eventually, he gave me an ultimatum – carry out the order or face the consequences.’
‘What did you do?’ asked Gytha quietly.
‘I will not chastise innocent people, Gytha,’ said Godwin, looking at his wife, ‘the punishment he demanded was too great.’
‘So what are the consequences?’ asked Leofwine.
‘I have been declared in contempt of the royal court and will be summoned to plead my case before the year is out. Until then, I am to remain within the boundaries of Wessex.’
‘Even so,’ said Gytha, ‘any man with the sense he was born with would see the unjustness of the situation.’
‘Ordinarily, yes,’ said Godwin, ‘but the problem is all members of the council are loyal to Edward, and the outcome will be what the king desires.’
‘That is unfair,’ said Gytha. ‘Is there any other way to ensure impartiality?’
‘Actually, there is,’ said Godwin. ‘I could appeal for my trial to be placed before the full Witan. That way, my fate is voted on by a gathering of nobles and bishops without fear of favouritism.’
‘And if you go to this trial, what are the possible outcomes?’
‘If I were to be found guilty, then all punishments are possible, including banishment, imprisonment or even execution.’
‘But you are not guilty,’ said Leofwine.
‘On the contrary,’ said Godwin, ‘if the charge is disobeying the king, then I am as guilty as any man can be. My defence, albeit honourable, will not be enough to throw out the charge of disobeying the king. Hopefully, it will be enough to mitigate any sentence, but make no mistake – I am guilty of this accusation.’
‘What are we going to do?’ asked Gytha.
‘There is only one thing we can do,’ said Godwin, ‘and that is to demand I be tried by the Witan. He may or may not agree, so we have to be ready to stand up to him. Our house has many allies across England, and with their support, we can force him to realise that no man, king or not, should be able to order the slaughter of innocent people for nothing more than petty revenge.’
‘You are going to confront the king?’ gasped Gytha.
‘I see no other option,’ said Godwin. ‘The choices are to make a stand now or accept the decision of the royal council. By doing the latter, every member of this family will be at risk, and that is something I will not countenance.’
‘At last,’ said Sweyn, who had maintained his silence up until then.
‘What did you say?’ asked Tostig, turning to face his brother.
‘I said at last,’ repeated Sweyn, placing his goblet on the table. ‘It is about time someone confronted the imposter who sits on the throne of England. Did I not request this very thing only a few months ago?’
‘You did,’ said Godwin, ‘but the circumstances were different, as well you know.’
‘Either way,’ said Sweyn, ‘it is about time he was ripped from his gilded throne and sent back whence he came.’
‘Hopefully, it won’t come to that,’ said Godwin, ‘but if it does, we have to make arrangements so that, should we lose the fight, we have somewhere safe to flee.’
‘We will not lose any fight with Edward,’ said Sweyn, ‘our allies are too great.’
‘Nevertheless, we have to have something in place,’ said Godwin, ‘and that is why I have summoned you here. We need to discuss our options, should we need to run.’
For a few moments, there was silence as the seriousness of the situation sank in. For as long as they could all remember, their family had been one of the strongest – if not the strongest – in England, but now, after a single event out of their control, they were about to discuss running for their lives.
‘I have an idea,’ said Sweyn, looking up. ‘I have a good relationship with King Gruffydd of Gwynedd. I am sure he would be more than happy to help should the situation arise. Perhaps I could speak to him?’
‘I thought about that,’ said Godwin, ‘but his kingdom is too close and easily attacked. Besides, we are still enemies at heart, and I fear that if Edward offered a reward, Gruffydd would not take too much persuading to betray us.’
‘Then it needs to be across the sea,’ said Leofwine.
‘It does,’ said Godwin, ‘but Normandy is out of the question due to the duke being a close friend of Edward. Boulogne is also off-limits as the count is one of those responsible for these accusations.’
‘What about Ireland?’ asked Leofwine. ‘It is no secret that the King of Leinster is no ally of Edward. Perhaps he could help?’
‘It is true that there is no love lost between the two,’ said Godwin, ‘but let us not forget that King Diarmait’s people are Vikings, and there is no guarantee as to how they will react.’
‘What about Flanders?’ said Leofwine. ‘I hear William the Bastard used force against Count Baldwin’s daughter for a proposal, and despite Matilda’s acceptance, the count still holds a grudge against the duke for the embarrassment he forced upon him.’
‘Actually, that is a good idea,’ said Gytha, ‘we have just had a notification from Count Baldwin approving Tostig’s advances to his sister. If we can accelerate this union, we would have a ready-made ally just across the sea. All the details have already been agreed, we just need to decide on a date.’
Everyone turned to face Tostig.
‘What say you, Tostig?’ asked Godwin. ‘Are you happy to marry Judith within the next few weeks?’
‘The sooner, the better as far as I am concerned,’ said Tostig, ‘and I am sure she feels the same.’
‘Then that is what we will do,’ said Godwin. ‘Gytha, send word to Baldwin – tell him that we wish to celebrate the union as soon as we possibly can.’
‘Once that is done,’ said Sweyn, ‘how do you intend to deal with Edward?’
‘Leave that with me,’ said Godwin. ‘In the meantime, we need to contact our allies and warn them that we may have cause to call upon them.’
‘I can still call on many men from Hereford,’ said Sweyn, ‘most of the thegns from my earldom are still loyal.’
‘What about your pilgrimage to Jerusalem?’
‘If you think I am going to abandon my family in their hour of greatest need, then you are sadly mistaken,’ said Sweyn. ‘I intend to be at your side, Father, and whether we stand or fall, it will be as a family.’
