only a handful of his conroi were able to halt their stampede and turn with him. He was soon engulfed by our cavalry and fighting for his life. Robert managed to grab the reins of his father’s horse and called on his men to sheathe their swords.
It was only then that I saw that two of the knights in the midst of it and at the forefront of the duel with William were Sweyn and Adela, still with their blades drawn.
‘Your Lord has ordered you to sheathe your weapons!’
Edwin could not have been firmer. They both — reluctantly — did as they were bidden.
William had been wounded. A spear or sword had cut through the mail on his right arm, which was soaked in blood, and the gauntlet on his left hand had been split open, revealing a deep gash. His check was gouged from below his eye to his jaw by the slash of a blade. He seemed confused and hardly able to speak.
Robert spoke to the few remaining knights who had stayed with his father.
‘Take him back to Rouen. When he is coherent, tell him to go back to England and leave Normandy to me. He will not be welcome on this side of the Sleeve until he installs me as Duke of this realm.’
William started to mutter something, but, wisely, his men drew him away at a canter. I watched as he was led away, noticing him swaying unsteadily in his saddle. I felt sorry for him — the once all-conquering warlord — now humbled in battle by his own son.
There were wild celebrations that night in the allied camp. Philip and Robert addressed their army to great cheers and raucous applause.
When the revelries were in full swing, Edwin and I took Sweyn and Adela to one side. I let Edwin give the reprimand.
‘You were given a clear order.’
Adela answered first.
‘Yes, we were.’
‘You disobeyed that order.’
Sweyn was next.
‘No, we did not. Our orders were to stay close to you and not to fight unless our lives were in danger. We did stay close to you and we were in mortal danger. The King came within a yard of us, swinging the baculus wildly. I was only defending myself.’
I took over the interrogation.
‘Does that mean that you actually engaged the King?’
‘Yes, my Lord. I was the one who slashed his face; his helmet saved his life. If I had been closer, I would have killed him.’
‘And I was the one who smashed his gauntlet. I too would have killed him if I had been given the chance. We both have a debt to collect.’
Edwin looked at me, astonished and exasperated, but without an immediate answer to their bravado. I could not decide whether to embrace them for their daring or admonish them for their defiance. I thought the latter the wiser option — at least, for the time being.
‘This conversation must remain with the four of us. If anyone discovers that you were responsible, at least in part, for the King’s wounds — and bear in mind, we don’t know what the consequences of them will be — you will be in mortal danger. Lauded as avenging warriors by some, derided as committing regicide by others; either way, you will be marked for life. Apart from that, I find it hard to believe that you just happened to stumble into the King’s path. Everything you have said leads me to believe that you sought him out and thus flagrantly ignored Edwin’s direct order. Sweyn, you are rusticated for a period of three months. You must return to your home in the Lot and think about the value of discipline and the importance of obedience. If you are to become a knight, you must embrace these values.
‘Adela, you are to go with him and you may accompany him on his return. You too should think of these things. If you want to fight in the company of knights, you must learn to act like one.’
Sweyn was furious, his eyes burning with rage.
‘Sire, this is not just, we did nothing wrong.’
‘Your further disobedience serves only to discredit you. I have spoken, now go! We will talk again when you return. I do not want to see you again until Easter has passed.’
With that, they relented and strode away. Even though Sweyn had his back to me, I could almost feel his rage.
‘I hope I have done the right thing. I have to admire them both; although the circumstances were fortuitous, they came closer to killing the King than anyone ever has. It almost defies belief.’
Edwin was shaking his head in bewilderment.
‘My Lord, I can’t quite believe it. They continue to astonish me; he’s a slip of a boy, she’s no more than a hundredweight wet through, but they have a strength about them like fine-tempered blades. I suppose they were forged in the same furnace — in the horror that was Bourne.’
‘I am impressed. They remind me so much of Hereward.’
‘You are right to send them away; they will come back stronger for it. I’m sorry Adela suddenly imposed herself on you, but I did warn you she was obstinate.’
‘Don’t apologize, Edwin. She is remarkable; her inner resolve is so striking. Not a word of this. They are too young to be lionized or to be the quarry for those seeking revenge for a stricken king. Let’s hope his wounds are not severe.’
My personal experience on the battlefield and the deeds of Sweyn and Adela left me with much to think about. Up until then, my motives in contemplating a fight, or in the heat of battle, had always been focused on myself. Either I, as an Atheling Prince, had been the cause of the conflict, or else I stood to gain significantly from the outcome. But this time, I was peripheral to the cause.
Vinbald’s sudden, horrendous death and my response to it made me realize why people fight with such courage — even though they may not benefit directly from victory, or suffer overmuch from defeat. Sweyn and Adela had shown the same resolve in their passion to enter the fray and to influence the outcome of the battle.
In essence, I had learned how to fight.
7. Brothers-in-Arms
King William’s injuries at Gerberoi were not severe enough to immobilize a young warrior for long, but at the age of forty-four his recuperation took some time. This did not improve his humour and only added to the acceleration of his corpulence. The damage to his morale was also significant — enough to suggest that he might never fully recover from it.
In the summer of 1079, Robert’s bravado in challenging his father reaped a bountiful harvest. The King’s magnates, both in England and Normandy, gathered in Rouen, steeled themselves to the task and confronted William. They were led by men whose own sons had joined the cause of William’s prodigal son.
Their words hardly needed saying: Normandy and England’s neighbours were now too strong, Malcolm of Scotland too opportunistic, the Danes too avaricious, for William’s large and difficult-to-defend domain. Therefore, it was imperative that he treat with his firstborn, offer concessions to him and make peace in his realm.
They were not easy words to say, nor were they palatable for William to listen to, but after the customary bellowing and blustering, hear them he did. So, in the middle of August 1079, we accompanied Robert and his followers after he was invited to Rouen to negotiate with his father.
I had sent intelligence to King Malcolm in Dunfermline throughout the internecine squabbles in Normandy. He had been poised to act since the spring and now his timing was perfect. Two weeks before the negotiations, he launched a major offensive, ravaging a huge area from the Tweed to the Tees and filling his barns, granaries and treasury with plunder. It was a major card for Robert to play in the haggling to come.
Sweyn and Adela had returned to us by then, much chastened by the experience of being stalled in pursuing their ambitions. I agreed that they could accompany us to Rouen, in part because I wanted to see how they would react when they were again close to the King. We did not discuss their return to their home in the Lot but, for some reason, I sensed that they had not gone there, but had journeyed elsewhere. There was a diffidence about them
