Another stood. “Aelfric, a freeman from Old Hall and Lawford. Both myself and the other freemen of the village of Lawford are being charged a Heriot of three times our annual geld assessment. We cannot pay our proper Heriot, let alone that being sought, also by Bishop William.”
Several others made complaint of excessive Relief amounts. Alan asked each to meet with Osmund for him to take their depositions, with attested copies, to be sworn before and witnessed by the local priests Father Ator and Brother Wacian.
“In two weeks I intend to meet with Sheriff Robert fitzWymarc and put to him the depositions I have received by that date for him to investigate and prosecute. I swear I will also raise each with the King’s Chancellor within the month and with the king when he returns. Please pass the word around the whole shire, to those you know in each Hundred, that I need as many depositions as possible when I meet fitzWymarc and that if they want their grievances addressed this is the only chance they will have.
“I don’t care if the complainant is a thegn, a cheorl, sokeman or freeman. I don’t care if it’s for five hides or one acre. All are equal before the law and all are entitled to its protection when abuse and extortion takes place. Next week Osmund will travel to Thaxted, Halsted, Chippingong, Chelmsford, Bilrekay, Maldon and Braintree. We’ll be in Colchester for two days before I see fitzWymarc to take depositions from those in Lexden Hundred. Tell your countrymen to be brave and come forward with their grievances.”
“Won’t this make you unpopular with the Normans?” came a voice out of the crowd.
“Probably. Certainly with those who are in charge of the Heriots,” replied Alan.
“We will take you at your word,” said Leofstan of Great and Little Oakley, one of the larger landholders present. “We’ll dispatch riders all over the shire this day. Now what else do you want?”
“A unified approach to equipping and training the fyrd in the Hundred, with a thegn as my lieutenant in each of the districts within the Hundred, responsible for arranging the training of the fyrdmen,” replied Alan.
“Isn’t that the sheriff’s job?” asked Edwold, one of the three thegns from Alresford.
“So was fighting off the Danes,” interjected Anne, joining in the conversation for the first time. “But we had to do it ourselves. We also have a number of holdings with widows, some of those killed at Hastings and some whose husbands have simply died naturally- although there have been few enough of those this past year! Some estates have heirs not yet of age and who are subject to the appointment of a guardian by Earl Ralph. As Alan has said, Earl Ralph is an ‘Englishman’, but one much taken with improving his own position. How many heirs will survive to inherit? And in what condition will their holding be if that happens? They’ll be stripped bare. And the widows will receive the same threats I received to enter an arranged marriage. You can follow Alan’s lead or not. It’s your choice, but he and I will go our own way irrespective of what you do or say.
“Further,” she continued “For those in the shire who genuinely cannot pay the Heriot, Alan and myself will lend money for up to two years, as usual as a charge against your land, with no interest charged. For those, particularly smallholders and freemen, who wish to sell their land because they cannot meet the Heriot but wish to remain on their land as cheorls in
“The church, the abbeys, monasteries and cathedrals, are lending money to the thegns and cheorls also, at no interest,” interjected Alfric.
Alan nodded his agreement and replied, “That is true. But the church rarely provides something for nothing. I think that such loans are a way of the church seeking to profit from the situation by lending money, and then when repayment is not made to then take possession of the manors involved. That way the church will acquire land at bargain prices!”
“What if we choose not to pay the Heriot and choose to fight?” asked Edwold.
Alan quickly interjected. “Please do not make that mistake! The Normans are here to stay. What is happening should realistically be looked at as the inevitable outcome of an invasion. The conquerors take over and run the country to their benefit. Whether that is also to the benefit of the current owners is questionable. England has been invaded successfully time after time over the last thousand years. The last was Cnut in 1016, but before him were many others from the Romans to the Saxons themselves, then the Vikings and the Danes several times.
“There has never once been a successful revolt in England. At first the tribes and now the earls have been too self-interested to successfully join together behind one man and raise the whole country. Can you see the Northmen accepting somebody from the South? What Englishman has the authority to raise the whole country? The Aetheling? Perhaps.
“Does Edgar Aetheling or any of the English earls have the capability to defeat King William? William is a brilliant general who commands an army of combined forces that some of you faced at Hastings in the most advantageous situation you could have hoped for, and he crushed the army of probably the best general England has ever had. Edwin or Morcar? They couldn’t even defeat a Norwegian army comprised solely of infantry at Fulford Gate!
“If there is a revolt, the whole land will need to rise as one behind one leader. Even Alfred the Great couldn’t get that degree of co-operation between the Englishmen. Scattered and isolated opposition will be crushed without mercy. William will bring total devastation to those areas that oppose him. I suggest you accept the successful Norman invasion as a fact, live with it and look to the long term. Now I will leave you to your discussions. If anybody wishes to speak with me further privately, as Edward said you know where my ‘castle’ is,” Alan and Anne rose, and with Alan holding her hand in a formal manner, proceeded out of the Hall, followed by his nineteen huscarles.
Several of the thegns including Aelfric, Leofstan and Leofson of Mose saw Alan and Anne privately later at the Hall, the latter two to discuss mutual co-operation with the fyrd.
Next morning at seven Alan stood with Hugh on the practice field outside the fort. Facing them were Brand and the other 18 huscarles, all in full mail harness. Most held kite-shaped shields, but a few preferred circular shields. Alan and Hugh had kite-shaped shields similar to the others, but painted a simple dark green, hanging from their left shoulders. Alan instructed in an easy but well-projected voice that carried to everybody in the group without shouting. “Right! Select a practice sword from the pile over there and pair up. When I give each pair the order to start, I want that pair to engage one on one.”
“Why do that? We can all use a sword,” said Brand with some distain. “Anyway, my favourite weapon is that one there,” he continued, pointing at a practice battle-axe.
“Firstly, you do it because I told you to. Secondly, I need to see what I need to work on with each of you. Now do it!” ordered Alan brusquely. The men lined up and each selected one of the blunt swords, swinging the sword to get accustomed to the balance.
One by one each of the pairs took turns to engage, with Alan and Hugh watching closely and making occasional comments to each other. Several times Alan stopped a bout to correct a technique he found particularly deficient, usually the angle at which the sword was held. Finally, Alan picked up a sword and said to Brand, who as the odd man out, had so far not participated.
“Let’s see how you go,” said Alan as he stood apparently unready three paces away from Brand. Brand towered six inches above the tall Alan and had a significantly longer reach. Brand suddenly launched himself forward with a series of vicious sword swings, which Alan countered nonchalantly with either shield or sword, slowly giving ground before Brand’s furious attack and observing the techniques and style of the other man.
Suddenly he moved to the attack with an advance followed by a ballestra lunge, a feint followed by a lunge- proper that struck Brand hard on the right of the chest. “Use that shield properly!” snarled Alan as he took a step back with a leg cross-over and pass backwards into the en garde position again.
With his face dark with anger Brand came forward more carefully this time. Alan performed a beat on Brand’s sword, a simple preparatory motion of hitting the middle of Brand’s sword to provoke a swing to which Alan responded with a circular parry, using parry counter-six followed by a stop-cut, hitting Brand on the side of the helmet with the flat of the practice-sword. He recovered in time to parry the attack that Brand pressed, despite being ‘dead’ from the head-wound, and gave a riposte which hit him again in the chest. Alan stepped back. “Dead three times in two minutes, I suggest that you do need to work on your technique, after all! Again!”
This time as Brand swung his sword Alan stepped inside the swing and used his shield to bash hard against that of his opponent. Brand used his own shield to deflect the following overhead blow from Alan, who in turn used
