The Earl of Cleveland has managed to put himself in King John’s good graces just at the time when other barons decide to rebel. They seek more land and power. The newly appointed Earl is caught in the middle. When the Scots begin to raid once more Sir Thomas is forced to rally the loyal knights of the north and repel them. Following the actual history which led to the Magna Carta and beyond this fast-moving novel moves from Scotland to Wales and Northampton and Lincoln. It culminates in the battle of Lincoln 1217 when the French army attempted to conquer England. So long as the Earl and William Marshal stand shoulder to shoulder with the boy king, Henry III then England will be safe!
This was a fascinating book to research. We all know of the Magna Carta and King John but the political background made it more interesting. There were conspiracies between the church and the barons, the barons and the King of France. Although King John is rightly vilified as a bad King there were others were had equally malicious characters. The fact that the Pope excommunicated most of the barons and churchmen who forced to sign the Magna Carta was something I did not know. Nor did I know that Prince Louis of France was proclaimed King of England and he fought a war for two years on English soil.
Excerpt
We headed along the greenway to the lonesome house. A family had lived here in the time of my great grandfather. A Scottish raid had taken the wife and the children. When their father returned from fighting for the Warlord he hanged himself. Men said that it was haunted and none would live there. Once we had passed the house, I smiled as I saw some of the squires clutch their crosses. Then we headed up the ridge which led through the woods. It brought us out at Tom the Pig’s farm.
He came out to speak with us, “Thank you for doing this Sir William. These boars are a menace and they are damnably dangerous.”
“It is Sir Thomas who leads this hunt. I am sorry that you have lost some of your pigs.”
He nodded, “The buggers get the scent of the boar and off they go! Still, my lord, not as bad as a Scottish raid. You can’t eat Scotsmen!”
We headed off across the small field he tilled for his vegetables. I could see that the boar had eaten everything. We were now silent and rode in a long line with Tam at the fore. Once he scented the boars he would signal and drop back behind me to protect Alfred. I too was as nervous as some of the others for I had not hunted boar for some time. The boars liked to forage around the roots of the oak trees which grew so well in the wood. They grew best close to the green beck. Tam held up his arm. The beasts were close. I could not hear them but a sudden gust of wind brought their stink to me. One reason why hunting was such good training for battle was that men had to look for signals and to act as one while fighting for themselves. As Tam moved backwards I raised my boar spear.
Edward and I were in the centre of the line with William and Fótr at our sides. Our squires were behind as were the Tomas brothers. Our squires carried a supply of spare spears. We were entering a tangle of bushes and small trees. Once the herd heard our noise then they would flee and we would have to react quickly. The secret was to get as close to them as we could. Skuld was a marvellous horse. She picked her way delicately through the undergrowth. Her ears moved constantly and she sniffed the air. It was like riding a good hunting dog. We did not use dogs. They barked and could get too excited. Most dogs were too brave for their own good and I had seen too many good dogs eviscerated by a boar’s tusks!
I spied a sow. She was a fat one. I raised my spear and Skuld stepped a little closer. I was almost within striking distance when Fótr’s horse stepped on an old branch and it cracked. It was then I spied the old tusker who ruled this herd. He was less than ten paces from me and his beady little eyes swivelled in my direction. I saw the scars on his back. They were the marks of spears as well as tusks. This one was a survivor. He chose me as his target.
He turned and came at me so quickly that I barely had time to react. It was Skuld who saved me. She reared and spun as he came for her. I stood in the stirrups and found myself above the beast. He was fast for an old one and, even as his head turned to rip the guts from my horse I had thrust down to a point at the base of his neck where his spine met his skull. Sometimes you aim for such a place and miss by the width of a little finger. In that case the beast is just hurt. I was lucky. I found the exact spot I was aiming for. My spear drove down and the life went from the ancient boar.
As I was turning to reach for the spear proffered by Petr, the sow I had spotted ran at me. It was Alfred and Tam who saved me. She would not have killed me but a gored leg would have weakened me as a warrior. Alfred’s spear struck first and he rammed it in her side. She squealed and turned on him. As she did so she exposed the back of her neck to Tam. He struck. Not as clean a blow as mine it nonetheless slowed her. Dick One Arrow and Cedric Warbow sent two arrows in to her at point blank range and she died.
The woods were filled with the sound of fleeing, squealing boars and horses and riders crashing through the thin branches of small trees and bushes. Petr handed me a second spear and I whirled Skuld to follow the others down the valley. This was easier for they were on the run. If they turned they would face two or three spears. Mordaf and Gruffyd were using short hunting bows and they were using them from the back of their horses. Their arrows would not kill. They would wound and slow. I heard the splash of water as some boars crossed the beck and began to clamber up the slope on the opposite side. That suited me for the wood went, with just one break for the road, to the woods at Elton. They could go there with my blessing.
We stopped at the edge of the stream and hunted the few that remained. I turned to see that all of my men had survived as had their horses. Fótr’s horse had a long wound along her flank. It would need stitching. I was not certain if he was more upset about his horse or the fact that he had alerted the boars to our presence. None of us mentioned it. Tam estimated that at least two young boars had escaped along with five sows and five young ones. They would join the Elton herd. We had killed the old boar, three sows, three young pigs, two boars and a sow and seven suckling pigs. While my archers went for the horses Tam and I lifted one of the young pigs on to the back of his horse and we took it to Tom the Pig. He had not expected the gift. A wild pig was a treat.
“Thank you, lord! I will say a prayer for you and your family on Sunday!”
“Thank you, Tom.”
By the time we had reached our men they had gutted the boars and sows and they were already on the horses. We walked our animals back for we had to use two of the archers’ horses too. Tam carried the offal in a sack he had brought for just such a purpose. When we passed Ralph of Oxbridge Tam gave him a heart and the liver and kidneys from two of the animals. I gave him a suckling pig. We had more than enough.
Fótr went with Tam once we reached our castle. He needed his horse healing. I sent one of the sows for my men at arms and a young sow and two suckling pigs for my archers. They had earned it. Geoffrey had servants ready to take away the other carcasses. Nothing would be wasted. The skins would be taken and cured. The meat would be butchered. The best cuts would be cooked for the feast. The cook would make other cuts into a stew while the rest would be preserved. The hooves would be rendered down. They made a good glue and the bones would be made available to those in the town. They would enrich stews and soups. Our butchers always left plenty of meat on them.
As Alfred and I walked to my hall he said, “I see what you meant, father. When that sow turned on you I did not have time to think. My spear did not penetrate as far as it should. If that had been a man then I would have been dead.”
“I thank you and Tam. As the old warriors would say, ‘I owe you a life’.”
He smiled and shook his head, “You gave me life, father, you owe me nothing.”
