Part 11 (1/2)
But Harold refused, and said that Ourth should not go against the duke and fight without him; and that he would not burn houses and villages, neither would he plunder his people. ”How,” said he, ”can I injure the people I should govern? I cannot destroy or hara.s.s those who ought to prosper under me.”
However all agreed that Gurth's advice was good, and wished him to follow it; but Harold, to shew his great courage, swore that they should not go to the field or fight without him. Men, he said, would hold him a coward, and many would blame him for sending his best friends where he dared not go himself[2]. So he would not be detained, but set out from London, leading his men forward armed for the fight, till he erected his standard and fixed his gonfanon right where THE ABBEY OF THE BATTLE is now built. There he said he would defend himself against whoever should seek him; and he had the place well examined, and surrounded it by a good fosse, leaving an entrance on each of three sides, which were ordered to be all well guarded.
The Normans kept watch and remained throughout the night in arms, and on their guard; for they were told that the English meant to advance and attack them that night. The English also feared that the Normans might attack them in the dark; so each kept guard the whole night, the one watching the other.
At break of day in the morning, Harold rose and Gurth with him. n.o.ble chiefs were they both. Two warhorses were brought for them, and they issued forth from their entrenchment[3]. They took with them no knight, varlet on foot, nor squire; and neither of them bore other arms than s.h.i.+eld, lance and sword; their object being to reconnoitre the Normans, and to know where and how they were posted. They rode on, viewing and examining the ground, till from a hill where they stood they could see those of the Norman host, who were near. They saw a great many huts made of branches of trees, tents well equipped, pavilions and gonfanons; and they heard horses neighing, and beheld the glittering of armour. They stood a long while without speaking; nor do I know what they did, or what they said, or what counsel they held together there; but on their return to their tent Harold spoke first.
”Brother,” said he, ”yonder are many people, and the Normans are very good knights, and well used to bear arms. What say you? what do you advise? With so great a host against us, I dare not do otherwise than fall back upon London: I will return thither and a.s.semble a larger army.”
”Harold!” said Garth, ”thou base coward! This counsel has come too late; it is of no use now to flinch, we must move onward. Base coward! when I advised you, and got the barons also to beseech you, to remain at London and let me fight, you would not listen to us, and now you must take the consequence. You would take no heed of any thing we could say; you believed not me or any one else; now you are willing, but I will not. You have lost your pride too soon; quickly indeed has what you have seen abated your courage. If you should turn back now, every one would say that you ran away. If men see you flee, who is to keep your people together? and if they once disperse, they will never be brought to a.s.semble together again.”
Thus Harold and Gurth disputed, till their words grew angry, and Gurth would have struck his brother, had he not spurred his horse on, so that the blow missed, and struck the horse behind the saddle, glancing along Harold's s.h.i.+eld. Had it gone aright, it would have felled him to the ground. Gurth thus vented his humour, charging his brother with cowardice; but they galloped on to the tents, and shewed no sign of their dispute, neither let any ill will appear between them, when they saw their people coming. Lewine, Harold's next brother after Gurth, had also arisen early, and gone to Harold's tent; and when he found not his two brothers where he left them over night, he thought he should see them no more. ”By Heaven,” cried he, ”they have been taken and delivered to their enemies;” for he thought they must either have been killed, or betrayed to the Normans; and he ran forth like a madman, shouting and crying out as if he had lost his senses. But when he learned where they were, and that they had gone out to reconnoitre the Normans, he and his companions, and the earls and barons, mounted quickly upon their horses, and set out from the tents; when behold! they met the brothers. The barons took it ill that they went so imprudently, and without any guard; but all turned back to the tents, and prepared for battle.
When they came in front of the enemy, the sight alarmed them grievously; and Harold sent forth two spies[4] to reconnoitre the opposite troops, and see what barons and armed men the duke had brought with him. As they drew near to his army, they were observed, and being taken before William, were sore afraid. But when he learnt what was their errand, and that they wanted to estimate his strength, he had them taken through all the tents, and shewed the whole host to them. Then he used them exceeding well, gave them abundantly to eat and drink, and let them go without injury or molestation.
When they returned to their lord, they spoke very honourably of the duke; and one of them, who had seen that the Normans were so close shaven and cropt, that they had not even moustaches, supposed he had seen priests and ma.s.s-sayers; and he told Harold that the duke had more priests with him than knights or other people. But Harold replied, ”Those are valiant knights, bold and brave warriors, though they bear not beards or moustaches as we do.”
[Footnote 1: This emulation between the brothers is also vouched by _Ordericus Vitalis. Gaimar_, in one MS. calls Gurth, Gerard; another MS.
reads Gerd.]
[Footnote 2: _Benoit_ bears ample testimony to the personal qualifications of Harold:
Pros ert Heraut e virtuos, E empernanz e corajoz: N'estoveit pas en nule terre Sos ciel meillor chevaler querre: Beaus esteit trop, e beaus parlers, Donierre e larges viandiers.
His mother, according to the same authority, dissuaded him from the enterprise, equally with his brother; who, besides the reasons urged in _Wace_, presses the army's need of repose after the late campaign.]
[Footnote 3: In the continuation of Wace's _Brut d'Angleterre_, Harold's morning is differently employed; and a curious legend is given, a.s.signing a reason for his defeat. See our appendix.]
[Footnote 4: The spy's mistake is also told by _William of Malmesbury_.
The Bayeux tapestry constantly represents the English with moustaches, and the Normans with none. The latter, however, soon adopted the fas.h.i.+on of flowing hair. In 1106, the bishop of Seez thought it necessary, in a sermon before Hen. I. to inveigh bitterly against the custom of wearing long hair and long toes, then a.s.sumed by the Normans.]
[Ill.u.s.tration]
[Ill.u.s.tration]
CHAPTER XV.
WHAT FURTHER PARLEY WAS HAD BETWEEN THE KING AND DUKE WILLIAM BEFORE THE BATTLE.
Then the duke chose a messenger, a monk learned and wise, well instructed and experienced, and sent him to king Harold. He gave him his choice, to take which he would of three things. He should either resign England and take his daughter to wife; or submit to the good judgment of the apostle and his people; or meet him singly and fight body to body[1], on the terms that he who killed the other, or could conquer and take him prisoner, should have England in peace, n.o.body else suffering. Harold said he would do neither; he would neither perform his covenant, nor put the matter in judgment, nor would he meet him and fight body to body.
Before the day of the battle, which was now become certain, the duke of his great courage told his barons, that he would himself speak with Harold; and summon him with his own mouth to render up what he had defrauded him of, and see what he would answer; that he would appeal him of perjury, and summon him on his pledged faith; and if he would not submit, and make reparation forthwith, he would straightway defy, and fight him on the morrow; but that if he yielded, he would, with the consent of his council, give up to him all beyond the Humber towards Scotland.
The barons approved this, and some said to him, ”Fair sir, one thing we wish to say to you; if we must fight, let us fight promptly, and let there be no delay. Delay may be to our injury, for we have nothing to wait for, but Harold's people increase daily; they come strengthening his army constantly with fresh forces.” The duke said this was true, and he promised them that there should be no more delay.
Then he made a score of knights mount upon their war-horses. All had their swords girt, and their other arms were borne by the squires who went with them. A hundred other knights mounted next, and went riding after them, but at a little distance; and then a thousand knights also mounted and followed the hundred, but only so near as to see what the hundred and the twenty did.