England in Anarchy Read online

  ENGLAND IN ANARCHY

  By

  H A Culley

  Book Two 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.

  Published by Orchard House Publishing

  Cover design by Pete Zelewski. © Pete Zelewski

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  As ever I am grateful to my family for their support, advice and help. I am also indebted to John Cleghorn for his invaluable help with proof reading and to Pete Zelewski for the cover design, and especially for putting up with my requests for changes.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  ENGLAND IN ANARCHY

  Author’s Note

  List of Principal Characters

  Prologue – Barfleur 25th November 1120 A.D.

  Chapter One – England 1135 A.D.

  Chapter Two – The Battle of the Standard 1138 A.D.

  Chapter Three – Descent into Civil War

  Chapter Four – Changing Fortunes 1141 A.D.

  Chapter Five – Robber Barons 1142 to 1143 A.D.

  Chapter Six – Death and Marriage 1144 - 1145 A.D

  Chapter Seven – Changing Fortunes 1145 -1147 A.D.

  Chapter Eight - End Game - 1148 to 1153 A.D.

  Chapter Nine - Aftermath 1154 to 1158 A.D.

  CAGING THE LYON

  PART ONE – THE REIGN OF THE MAIDEN

  Chapter One – Unpromising Beginnings 1158 – 1160 A.D.

  Author’s Note

  This historical novel is set in the 12th Century covering the years 1135 to 1154 A.D. This period, when Stephen reigned as the last Norman king, is known as the Anarchy. Throughout his reign civil war raged sporadically in England and law and order collapsed.

  Hugo de Cuille, also spelt Cuilly, is said to have arrived in England around the time of the Norman 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. History doesn’t recall what happened to him and his descendants after 1066 so I have taken the liberty to let my imagination run free. There was no barony of the Cheviot but Henry Beauclerc did create twenty one baronies in Northumberland early on in his reign, including the barony of Wooler held by the de Muschamps and of Alnwick held by the de Vescis. The Cheviot itself was in the Muschamp barony, the d’Umfravilles owned Harbottle and Redesdale and Wark was part of the Carham Barony.

  Because there are rather a lot of Cuilles to cope with I have included a family tree and also used the soubriquet Fitz, meaning ‘son of’, followed by the father’s name for the main characters on the Derbyshire / Scottish side of the family.

  I have followed the chronology of actual events in the main but I have added one fictional battle, that at York, which didn’t take place as described in the novel. Stephen led the advance on York, not Eustace, and Henry Plantagenet fled back to Normandy before his arrival.

  Many of the characters are young. This is because in the early middle-ages fifty per cent of the population were under twenty one. Henry Plantagenet became duke of Normandy at seventeen and Malcolm became king of Scots at the age of twelve.

  Both Stephen’s queen and his rival for the throne, the Empress, were called Matilda. To save confusion I have called the latter Maud throughout as this was a diminutive form of Matilda and a name she was often known by.

  I have used modern place names to make it easier to follow the plot.

  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.

  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.

  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.

  Chausses - chain mail leggings covering the legs which were exposed below the hauberk.

  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.

  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.

  Knight’s Fee - an estate or manor held by a tenant in exchange for which he provides one knight to serve his lord - or the king in the case of a baron or earl - for (normally) forty days per year and to serve under him in time of war.

  Mesnie - The knights forming the regular military component of a noble’s household.

  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.

  Picquet – a body of troops placed in advance of the main position to warn of the enemy’s advance.

  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.

  Scutage - payment instead of providing military service in return for holding land as a tenant or tenant-in-chief.

  Shatranj - a board game similar to modern chess which reached Western Europe from the East in the 9th Century.

  Sheriff - a senior royal official responsible for keeping the peace throughout a shire or county on behalf of the king.

  Villein - a peasant personally bound to his lord, to whom he paid dues and services, sometimes commuted to rents, in return for his land.

  Yuletide - The period of celebration from Christmas Eve to the sixth of January.

  List of Principal Characters

  In order of appearance

  Historical characters are shown in bold type

  WILLIAM ADELIN Son of Henry Beauclerc, king of England

  EDWARD DE CUILLE Son of Robert de Cuille, lord of four manors in the High Peak, Derbyshire

  HUMPHREY DE CUILLE Elder son of Tristan de Cuille, baron of the Cheviot

  TRISTAN DE CUILLE His father. Son of Hugo de Cuille, twin brother of Robert de Cuille (died 1134)

  WILLIAM PEVEREL Norman baron. Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire

  RICHARD FITZROBERT Elder son of Robert de Cuille. Lord of four manors in the High Peak and constable of Peverel Castle

  THE EMPRESS MAUD Also called Matilda. Daughter of Henry I. Wife of Geoffrey of Anjou

  GUY FITZRICHARD Son of Richard FitzRobert. Squire to Tristan de Cuille, baron of the Cheviot

  HUGH
DE CUILLE Son of Humphrey de Cuille. Guy’s second cousin

  STEPHEN OF BLOIS Henry I’s nephew. King of England

  HENRY OF BLOIS Stephen’s brother. Bishop of Winchester and keeper of the royal treasury

  ROBERT DE MUSCHAMP Baron of Wooler in Northumberland

  MARGARET DE CUILLE His wife. Sister of Richard FitzRobert

  JOHN DE CUILLE Humphrey’s younger brother. Constable of Wark Castle

  DAVID I King of Scots and Prince of Cumbria. Earl of Huntingdon

  PRINCE HENRY OF SCOTLAND Son of King David. Later earl of Northumberland

  THURSTAN Archbishop of York. One of the English leaders at the Battle of the Standard

  WILLIAM OF AUMALE Norman noble. One of the English leaders at the Battle of the Standard. Later earl of York

  WALTER FITZALAN High steward of Scotland

  GEOFFREY OF ANJOU Count of Anjou and of Maine. Later duke of Normandy

  EUSTACE DE VESCI Baron of Alnwick

  ROBERT D’UMFRAVILLE Baron of Prudhoe

  MATILDA OF BOULOGNE Queen of England

  RANULPH DE GERNON Earl of Chester

  SIR FULK FITZURSE Constable of Peverel Castle and Deputy Sheriff of Derbyshire

  WILIIAN OF YPRES One of King Stephen’s commanders

  ROBERT, EARL OF GLOUCESTER Half-brother of the Empress Maud and her senior commander

  SIMON OF LAXTON The knight Guy FitzRichard served as a squire

  GEOFFREY DE MANDEVILLE Notorious robber baron. Later earl of Essex

  GOSPATRIC Earl of Lothian

  EDMUND FITZHENRY Illegitimate son of Henry of Blois. Squire to Guy FitzRichard

  ALICE DE VESCI Daughter of Eustace de Vesci. Later wife of Hugh de Cuille

  MARGARET OF EDALE Heiress to the manor of Edale. Later wife of Guy FitzRichard

  ODENEL D’UMFRAVILLE Succeeded Robert d’Umfraville as baron of Prudhoe

  WILLIAM DE VESCI Son of Eustace de Vesci and brother of Alice. Squire to Hugh de Cuille

  RALPH DE CUILLE Only son of John de Cuille and squire to Humphrey de Cuille

  ALAIN OF CHESTERFIELD Guy FitzRichard’s senior household knight

  HENRY OF ANJOU Son of the Empress Maud, later King Henry II. First Plantagenet king

  ROGER OF GLOUCESTER Son of the earl of Gloucester, later bishop of Worcester

  GERALD OF STOCKSBRIDGE Illegitimate son of Ranulph of Chester

  WALDO DE CUILLE Third son of the lord of the manor of Cuille in Maine

  TURSTIN Illegitimate nephew of Gerald of Stocksbridge

  GILBERT OF HASTINGS English monk. Later bishop of Lisbon

  SIR HENRY GLANVILLE Commander of the crusaders besieging Lisbon

  EUSTACE OF BOULOGNE Elder son of King Stephen

  MARJORIE DE CUILLE Illegitimate child of Margaret of Edale and Gerald of Stocksbridge, accepted by Guy FitzRichard as his daughter

  ROBERT OF LOCKSLEY Guy’s squire. Later lord of the manor of Hathersage

  EMMA DE BULLY Heiress to the barony of Hoyland. Guy’s second wife

  WILLIAM MARSHALL Son of Sir John Marshall and nephew of the earl of Salisbury

  NICHOLAS OF CRAIGMOR Eldest son Guy FitzRichard

  ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE Former queen of France. Duchess of Aquitaine. Later queen of England

  PRINCE MALCOLM OF SCOTLAND Later Malcolm IV, king of Scots. Nicknamed ‘the Maiden’

  PRINCE WILLIAM Malcolm’s younger brother. Earl of Northumberland. Later William I, king of Scots

  ROBERT DE BRUS Lord of Annandale

  ROBERT DE ROOS Baron of Helmsley in Yorkshire. Later lord of the manor of Carham

  SIMON OF BERWICK Second son of Guy FitzRichard

  WILLIAM OF BOULOGNE Second son of King Stephen

  THOMAS BECKETT Archdeacon of Canterbury. Lord chancellor of England. Later Archbishop of Canterbury

  JOHN LITTLE Squire to Robert of Locksley

  HERVEY DE KEITH First marishal of Scotland.

  DUNCAN DE KEITH Son of Hervey de Keith. Squire to Guy FitzRichard

  Prologue – Barfleur 25th November 1120 A.D.

  William Adelin certainly knew how to throw a party. He had arrived in Barfleur with his father, Henry Beauclerc, accompanied by their respective retinues of nobles, knights and attendants ready to embark for their return to England. Henry had been king of England ever since his brother, William Rufus had been killed in the New Forest in mysterious circumstances twenty years previously. He was a scholarly man but he had also proved himself as a warrior, defeating his eldest brother, Robert, at the battle of Tinchebrai to settle the fraught question of the succession after the death of William Rufus.

  The king had set off first leaving his son to follow on the White Ship, a newly built craft captained by Thomas FitzStephen, the son of the man who had commanded the Maria, William the Conqueror’s flagship. However, the twenty year old William had other ideas once free of his father’s company. He was Henry’s only son and the king doted on him. Consequently William had grown up as a spoilt brat. He was self-indulgent and attracted young rakes with a hedonistic disposition to him like flies to a corpse. One of these was the twenty five year old Geoffrey de l’Aigle. Another of his companions was Edward de Cuille, the second son of Sir Robert de Cuille, who held several manors in the High Peak of Derbyshire.

  Edward was twenty two and recently knighted. He had been delighted initially when his father had secured a place for him in William’s mesnie; to be a companion of the future king was both an honour and a chance to advance himself. As a second son he would not inherit the estate, or any part of it, and he had to make his own way in the world. Like his father and his grandfather, Hugo, he was a good looking young man. The one difference was that he wore his brown hair long in the manner popularised by King Henry. But he was rather serious by nature and felt uncomfortable with William’s dissolute lifestyle.

  Instead of boarding the ship as soon as the baggage was loaded, William and his friends refused to leave the tavern where they were slowly getting drunk and enjoying the local whores. William’s half-sister, Matilda FitzRoy, countess of Perche, remonstrated with him but, just when he had decided it was time to go, Geoffrey de l’Aigle brought the master, Thomas FitzStephen, to him.

  ‘My lord, please have no worries about your departure. My ship is so fast that it can make headway against any tide. In fact, I am confident that we will be able to overtake the king and arrived in England before him, even if we don’t leave for another few hours’ the master boasted.

  ‘William, why don’t we at least repair on board? We can always take a few barrels of wine with us to slake our thirst on the journey’ Edward suggested. He felt that once on board they could at least get under way before the tide went out any further.

  It didn’t quite work out that way. Once on board the barrels were broached and, overriding the protests of the ship’s master, Prince William insisted that the crew join him in several toasts to a successful crossing. Most on board were so drunk that they could hardly stand by the time that the crew cast off.

  The White Ship made its way somewhat erratically out of the harbour. Instead of departing in daylight, as intended, it was now dark and the lookout in the bow could see very little. His powers of observation were somewhat diminished by the amount of wine he had consumed and he was almost asleep when he saw the tell-tale white foam that indicated water breaking over some rocks on the port bow. By the time his befuddled brain had realised what this meant and he had cried a warning it was too late.

  The ship was travelling at over ten knots and the impact tore a gaping hole all along the port side as it came to a shuddering halt. Everyone on board was thrown to the deck by the impact and some fell overboard. For several moments the ship hung there, impaled on the rocks. With great presence of mind Thomas FitzStephen managed to find four of his crew who were sober enough to launch the small skiff. He ran to where Prince William lay and, with the help of Gilbert and Edward, they managed to get him into the boat. The seamen started rowing for the sho
re but at that moment the sea dragged the mortally wounded ship off the rocks. Water rushed into the port side and it started to sink.

  ‘William, don’t leave me here to drown’. The scream of his half-sister penetrated William’s befuddled consciousness and he suddenly shook off the stupor induced by the alcohol.

  ‘It’s Matilda, we must save her. I can’t let my sister drown’ he cried in anguish.

  ‘My lord, there is nothing we can do. If we turn back all the people in the water will swamp this small boat. We must concentrate on saving your life’ Edward pleaded with the distraught prince.

  But there was no reasoning with him. ‘Did you hear what I said?’ His voice rose in anger. ‘Turn this boat round now and save the Countess Matilda or every one of you will hang.’

  There was nothing Edward could do as the sailors rushed to do as they were bid. The boat didn’t even reach where Matilda was flailing at the water to keep herself afloat. There had been three hundred people on the White Ship and, although only a few of them could swim, enough reached the skiff and tried to climb aboard. Soon the gunwale was pushed under water and it capsized.