The Bastard's Crown Read online

  THE BASTARD’S CROWN

  By

  H A Culley

  Book One of the Normans Series

  First Kindle Edition 2013

  Text copyright © 2013 H A Culley

  The author asserts the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without written permission from the author.

  Cover design by Peter Zelewski © Peter Zelewski

  This book is dedicated to my wife, Caroline, with love and thanks for her help and unfailing understanding when I spend weeks locked away writing in my study.

  I am grateful to my son, James, for his advice, suggestions and help with proofreading, to my daughters Georgina and Charlotte for their support and to my brother-in-law Paul for his help as a proof-reader.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Author’s Note

  List of Principal Characters

  Chapter One – Maine 1057 A.D.

  Chapter Two - Normandy 1058 to 1063 A.D

  Chapter Three – England 1061 A.D.

  Chapter Four – Maine 1063 A.D.

  Chapter Five – Normandy and Brittany 1064 to 1065 A.D.

  Chapter Six – England 1066

  Chapter Seven – 14th October 1066

  Chapter Eight – Aftermath: October 1066 to May 1067 A.D.

  Chapter Nine – Massacre in the North 1069 to 1070 A.D.

  Epilogue – July 1119 A.D.

  ENGLAND IN ANARCHY

  Prologue – Barfleur 25th November 1120 A.D.

  Chapter One – England 1135 A.D.

  Author’s Note

  This historical novel is set in the 11th Century covering the years 1057 to 1071 A.D. It tells the story of the events that led up to the Norman Conquest and the aftermath on both sides of the Channel from the viewpoint of a number of characters, some historical and some fictional. The main players in the drama are too well known to need further introduction but it might be helpful to include a note about a couple of the minor ones.

  Viscount Ranulph Peverel did marry a Saxon noblewoman called Maud and they did have a son called William Peverel who is widely believed to have been fathered by William of Normandy. If this is not the case it is strange that they later had a son who was undoubted fathered by Ranulph who they also called William. The role of a viscount in France at the time was enforcing the law and collecting taxes.

  I have called William of Normandy by the English version of his name but I have called William Peverel by the French version, Guillaume, to save confusion between the two.

  Hugo de Cuille, also spelt Cuilly, is said to have arrived in England around the time of the conquest and to have been granted lands in Derbyshire by King William. It is believed that he is the origin of the surname Culley but this may or may not be true. Many families of Norman origin hold that their ancestor was present at the Battle of Hastings but it is far more likely that most came over after the battle as reinforcements. For the sake of the plot I have assumed that Hugo was present at the battle.

  Many of the characters are young. This is because in the early middle-ages fifty per cent of the population were under twenty one. William the Bastard became duke of Normandy at the tender age of seven.

  I have used a mixture of place names. Where the present day name is similar to that in the Doomsday Book I have used the old name. Where it was quite different, for example modern day Castleton (named after the castle built by William Peverel), I have used the English translation Peak Cavern in preference to the Saxon Pechefers (which can also be translated as Peak’s Arse). In other cases I have used the modern name as the place’s existence in the 11th Century is uncertain.

  There are certain words which might be unfamiliar to the reader. I list a few of these below:

  Angevin - inhabitant of the French county of Anjou to the south of Maine.

  Aulant - a breed of large, short coated hunting dog used for keeping a boar at bay.

  Bailiff - an administrative official. In a manor he represented the peasants to the lord, oversaw the lands and buildings of the manor, collected fines and rents, and managed the income and expenses of the manor. Bailiffs were normally outsiders and free men, that is, not from the village.

  Baldric - a belt, usually made of leather, worn over the shoulder to carry a sword in its sheath.

  Bondsman - a man who is owned by someone else; a slave. The lowest class in Anglo-Saxon and Norman society.

  Braies - a type of trousers generally reaching to the knees or mid-calf. They could be made of leather, wool, cotton or linen. Later they became briefer and were worn as undergarments beneath hose.

  Churl - a free commoner in the Anglo-Saxon hierarchy, ranking above a villein and below a thane.

  Conroi - a troop of cavalry, usually knights.

  Constable - person in charge of a castle in the absence of its lord. In particular, he was responsible for its defence.

  Courser - the courser was more common as a war horse than the destrier and preferred by some as they were lighter and faster whilst still being quite strong. They were valuable horses, but less expensive than the highly-prized destrier.

  Destrier - the finest and strongest type of warhorse. These horses were usually stallions, bred and raised from a foal specifically for use in war. They were comparatively expensive.

  Ealdorman - a high-ranking royal official and chief magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire. The term was replaced by Shire Reeve (Sheriff) under the Normans.

  Fyrd - working men who were called up to fight for Anglo-Saxon kings in times of danger.

  Gambeson - a heavily quilted coat worn under the outer defence of chain mail to prevent it from chafing, or else worn on its own where it gave some protection from cuts and arrows.

  Jennet - a smooth-gaited type of horse known for its presence, style and smooth ride.

  Mainard - inhabitant of the French county of Maine.

  Mesnie - French term for the military household of a noble.

  Palfrey - the most expensive and highly-bred type of riding horse during the Middle Ages, sometimes equalling the knight's destrier in price. Consequently it was popular with nobles, ladies and highly-ranking knights for riding, hunting and ceremonial use.

  Reeve - the man who was elected annually by the villagers to supervise their work for the lord of the manor.

  Rouncey - an ordinary, all-purpose horse. They were used for riding, but could also be trained for war. It was not unknown for them to be used as pack horses.

  Scrivener - a senior administrative appointment with responsibility for other clerical staff. Scriveners later developed into public servants, accountants and lawyers

  Shire Reeve - a royal official responsible for maintaining law and order throughout a shire or county. Later corrupted to ‘sheriff.’

  Thane - The lowest rank of Angle-Saxon nobleman; any landowner of more than six hundred acres was entitled to become a thane.

  Villein - a peasant who was tied to the manor where he farmed his land. Socially villeins ranked between churls (Saxon) or freemen (Norman) and bondsmen.

  List of Principal Characters

  In order of appearance

  Historical characters are shown in bold type

  HUGO DE CUILLE Son of Robert de Cuille, lord of the manor of Cuille in Maine, France

  GILBERT Son of the blacksmith at Cuille. Boyhood friend of Hugo

  ROBERT DE CUILLE Mainard knight. Lord of the manor of Cuille, Hugo’s father

  ALICE DE MORTREE Wife of Sir Robert de Cuille and daughter of Courtney, Baron of Mortree in Normandy

  GEOFFREY MARTEL Count of Anjou and conqueror of most of Maine


  HERBERT BASSO Count of Maine. Forced out by Geoffrey Martel, now a refugee in Normandy

  GUY DE VIHIERS Angevin knight who is given Cuille by Geoffrey Martel

  CONAN Count of Brittany

  GUILLAUME PEVEREL Norman knight. Eldest son of Viscount Peverel ; probably the illegitimate son of Duke William

  BROTHER ANSELM Sub-prior of Solesmes Monastery; later scrivener to the constable of Alencon

  WILLIAM, DUKE OF NORMANDY Known in his own time as William the Bastard. Later the first Norman king of England.

  RANULPH PEVEREL Norman viscount. Father of Guillaume. Married to Maud, daughter of Ingelric, a Saxon noble

  BISHOP ODO OF BAYEAUX One of Duke William’s half-brothers and a close advisor. Later Earl of Kent

  WILLIAM DE WARENNE Seigneur de Varennes. One of Duke William’s companions. Later Earl of Surrey

  ROLLO DE ST.LAURENT Squire at Caen and son of Sir Tormod de St. Laurent. Hugo de Cuille’s nemesis.

  TRISTAN Squire to Sir Miles Peverel. Training with Hugo at Caen

  DROGO DE BALLON The baron of Ballon in Maine and a supporter of Geoffrey Martel

  GEOFFREY DE MAYENNE A leading Mainard baron and governor of Maine on behalf of Geoffrey Martel

  COURTNEY DE MORTREE Norman baron and father of Lady Alice, Robert de Cuille’s wife

  EDMUND Squire to Guillaume de Peverel whilst Hugo was missing, later squire to Viscount Peverel

  SIR MILES PEVEREL Second cousin to Guillaume Peverel and the knight served by Tristan

  SIR QUINCEY DE ST. LAURENT Elder son of Sir Tormod and brother of Rollo

  ROLAND Squire to Sir Robert de Cuille, later Hugo’s squire

  OSWIN OF BURNEHAM Third son of the Thane of Burneham and one of King Edward the Confessor’s housecarls

  WILLIAM THE NORMAN Bishop of London

  ESA One of King Edward the Confessor’s housecarls, friend of Oswin

  CENRIC One of King Edward the Confessor’s housecarls, friend of Oswin

  WULFRIC OF BURNEHAM Oswin’s youngest brother

  ROWENA OF BURNEHAM Wulfric’s twin sister

  SIR PIERS LE GRAND A Norman knight and Duke William’s under-marshal, later lord of Cuille.

  HAROLD GODWINSON Earl of Wessex; later Harold II, last Saxon king of England

  SIWARD CEDRICSON Heir to Farneham, betrothed to Rowena of Burneham

  CEDRIC Thane of Farneham, Siward’s father

  MILLICENT Heiress of Piers Le Grand and second wife of Robert de Cuille

  WILLIAM FITZOSBERN Norman baron, later earl of Hereford

  SIR AYLMER DE BELLEME Constable of Domfort Castle, Mabel de Belleme’s cousin

  MABEL DE BELLEME Wife of Roger de Montgomery. Heiress of Alencon, Domfort, Seez and Belleme

  RALPH Tristan’s younger brother and his squire; later Hugo’s squire

  ROBERT DE BELLEME Son of Roger de Montgomery and Mabel Belleme

  MORCAR Saxon earl of Northumbria, brother of Edwin

  EDWIN Saxon earl of Mercia, brother of Morcar

  HARALD HADRADA King of Norway

  ROGER DE MONGOMERIE Norman baron, husband of Mabel de Belleme and father of Robert. Later earl of Shrewsbury

  GUY MELVILLE Marshal to Roger de Montgomery

  SWEYN A Saxon boy, servant to Hugo de Cuille and later his squire

  EMERY LE GROS A knight in Hugo’s conroi at Hastings

  BALDWIN FITZWARREN Norman knight in the service of Robert de Comyn

  ROBERT DE COMYN Norman earl of Northumbria

  EDGAR THE ATHLING Member of the Saxon royal house. Elected king of the English after Hastings but never crowned

  WILLIAM MALET Norman baron and companion of Duke William. Later shire reeve of Norfolk and Suffolk

  ROBERT DE CUILLE}

  TRISTAN DE CUILLE} Twin sons of Hugo de Cuille

  Chapter One – Maine 1057 A.D.

  It promised to be another hot day but at the moment tendrils of mist still clung to the area around the river that divided Maine from Brittany. Hugo de Cuille shuffled impatiently waiting for a fish to take the bait dangling from his rod and ignored the disapproving stare from his friend Gilbert, who had already landed a nice fat trout. The two boys often sneaked away from the village just before dawn to see what they could catch but they would be in trouble if caught. No-one was allowed to leave the village without permission, although this didn’t really apply to Hugo as the son of the lord of the Manor. But he would no doubt be punished for leading Gilbert astray.

  Hugo was slim and tall for his age. As the lord’s son he attracted the envy of other boys in any case, so his good looks just rubbed salt into their wounds. He would have been surprised to be described as arrogant but there was a definite tendency in that direction, which was getting worse as he grew older.

  Gilbert was the one person who kept Hugo’s feet on the ground. The blacksmith’s youngest son was stocky and had a face that even his mother said was plain. She had been Hugo’s wet nurse and the two boys, being the same age, had grown up together. Gilbert was down to earth, modest and honest. His one failing in his parent’s eyes was that he was not much interested in following in his father’s footsteps in the smithy.

  Suddenly the birds in the trees over their heads stopped warbling their dawn chorus and took flight. The two boys looked at each other, wondering what could have disturbed them. As they listened intently they heard the clink of metal against metal and the neigh of a horse quickly silenced by a hand over its muzzle. The two boys slithered forwards and peered under the shrubs that lined the river bank. The area between the river and the village was wooded before the trees gave way to the cultivated strips that provided most of the food for the manor. A group of armed men, both on foot and mounted, were making their way stealthily through the wood, obviously intent on attacking the village whilst most were still asleep.

  In the middle of the eleventh century Maine was a prize being fought over by Geoffrey Martel, the powerful count of Anjou, to the south and William the Bastard, duke of Normandy, to the north. The nominal count of Maine was quite powerless in comparison to these two magnates and had recently become a ‘guest’ of Duke William. Robert de Cuille, Hugo’s father, held his manor from the Lord of Leval but that man had proved as steadfast as a reed shaken by the wind and had changed sides so many times people had lost count. Consequently Robert was largely left to his own devices and had remained loyal to the count of Maine, Herbert Basso. It was therefore likely that the attackers were Angevins.

  Hugo lay there wondering what to do. His only weapon was a dagger; besides which, what could a thirteen year old do against perhaps fifty men clad in armour and armed with crossbows, swords and spears? But he couldn’t just lie there and do nothing whilst his home was attacked. He was thinking so hard that Gilbert had to tug his sleeve twice before he got his attention. He pointed off to their right where one of the soldiers had paused to squat down by a tree. He looked to be quite young and in all likelihood the thought of battle had loosened his bowels. What had attracted Gilbert’s attention was the horn he was carrying slung over one shoulder.

  The two boys scuttled along behind the line of shrubs until they were just ten yards from the tree where the man with the horn was. They broke cover and raced towards him, Hugo drawing his dagger as he ran. They could see the soldier clearly now; he was only a few years older than they were. Hugo hesitated for a second but their quarry was in the process of lacing up his braies and their one chance was to attack him whilst he was least prepared. The noise of their pounding feet alerted the youth, but too late; as he reached for his dagger Hugo stabbed him in the neck and Gilbert swung his fish gaff into his right hand. The adrenalin was coursing through Hugo and he stabbed and stabbed long after the youth was dead. Gilbert had more presence of mind and grabbed the horn before blowing it as hard as he could.

  The sound of the horn brought the quietly moving soldiers to a halt. For a moment they stood there stunned before a knight on a big destrier gathered his wits and, sending thr
ee men back to deal with the two boys, led the rest on a charge towards the village. Hugo looked at Gilbert who was staring in horror at the approaching soldiers,

  ‘What do we do now?’

  Hugo thought for a moment. The youth had placed a loaded crossbow, a quiver of spare quarrels, a sword and his shield beside him before squatting down. The sword was still it its scabbard.

  ‘Take the crossbow and the quarrels; you’re a better shot than me in any case.’ As he spoke he pulled the sword free and picked up the heavy shield. He had started to practice with Tancred, the grizzled old soldier who led his father’s men-at-arms, in preparation for starting his training as a squire when he was fourteen but this sword was much heavier than the one he had at home. He crouched down behind the shield, drew back the sword and waited for the three men lumbering towards them. Suddenly one shot backwards as if he had been yanked by a rope. Gilbert’s first quarrel had caught him in the middle of his chest, parting the thick padded materiel of his gambeson before striking through flesh, smashing his ribcage and lodging in his heart.

  ‘Shot’ declared Hugo in admiration as Gilbert took cover behind him to reload the crossbow. It was a fearsome weapon and even the best chainmail wouldn’t stop a well-aimed crossbow quarrel; however, its one drawback was the length of time it took to reload. The other two men-at-arms had stopped in consternation when their comrade was struck down but now came on with hatred distorting their faces. A moment ago they might have been content to take the boys prisoner but now they wanted blood.

  ~#~

  Sir Robert de Cuille lay asleep beside his wife, the Lady Alice, in the solar when the blast of a hunting horn dimly penetrated his consciousness. He had inherited the manor from his father after he was killed in a hunting accident when Robert was twenty five. Like his son, he had light brown hair and was a decidedly handsome man, something that had helped him win the hand of the youngest daughter of Courtney, Lord of Mortree in Normandy, two years later. He lay there for a moment confused and then leaped out of bed. He ran into the hall to rouse his servants and sent one to wake the six men-at-arms who were all he could afford to keep. He sent the fastest runner to the gate to ring the bell to warn the villagers and then hurriedly dressed and stood whilst a servant pulled his hauberk over his head and armed him.