Trace the turbulent histor y of Britain's monarchy from 1066 to the present day
DISCOVER BRITAIN’S HEROES & VILLAINS
Welcome to
Book of BRITISH ROYAL S
The date is 14 October 1066, a nd the battlefield at Hasti ngs l ies blood ied, l ittered w ith the rema i ns of Ha rold II’s r u i ned a r my, w ith Ha rold h i mself defeated by a n a r row to the eye Wi l l ia m the Conqueror has just ea r ned h is fa mous title, a nd w ith it, the crow n of Eng la nd Th is is where ou r stor y beg i ns – the fasci nati ng ta le of Br ita i n ’ s mona rchy In th is new ed ition of Book of Br itish Roya ls, you’l l d iscover i ncred ible facts about ever y k i ng a nd queen of Br ita i n f rom 1066 to the present day, a nd u ncover the tr uth beh i nd roya l sca nda ls, con fl icts a nd tr iu mphs From the bloody battles of Hasti ngs, Boswor th a nd A g i ncou r t, to the treacherous pol itica l cou r ts of the T udors a nd Stua r ts trace the tu rbu lent h istor y of Br ita i n ’ s roya l blood l i ne f rom its beg i n n i ngs r ig ht up to the present, w ith the 2022 accession of Cha rles III
BRITISH ROYALS BOOK OF
Group
Senior
Compiled
Senior
Editorial
Managing
W
A shy cha r itable k i ng who was never desti ned
St
A notor iously r uth less k i ng a nd the last of the Pla ntagenets
Boswor th’s v ictor Hen r y la id the fou ndations of the T udor dy nast y
The ta le of a wa r r ior k i ng w ith a bone to pick w ith the church
Hen r y V I I I’s precious on ly son, who d ied a l l too ea rly
The trag ic ta le of the you ng queen of just n i ne days
How the f i rst T udor queen ga i ned her Bloody Ma r y mon i ker
A tu rbu lent reig n f rom one of h istor y s g reat
The K i ng of Eng la nd a nd Scotla nd, subject to a fa i led mu rder
Discover how the union of Engla nd a nd Scotla nd shaped the line of succession a nd the modern British mona rchy
The Un ited K i ngdom of Great Br ita i n has not a lways been u n ited, or k now n as Great Br ita i n for that matter P r ior to 1707, th is seem i ng ly sma l l isla nd i n the Nor th Atla ntic had been d iv ided for centu r ies Eng la nd (i nclud i ng Wa les) a nd Scotla nd were i n fact two i ndependent cou ntr ies, a nd it wasn’t u nti l the passi ng of the T reaty of Un ion th roug h both Pa rl ia ments i n 1707 that the two k i ngdoms u n ited, of f icia l ly ma rk i ng the bi r th of Great Br ita i n, a nd as a resu lt, its mona rchy
The f i rst sovereig n to r u le over Great Br ita i n was Queen A n ne Of f icia l ly she had reig ned as queen of both cou ntr ies for f ive yea rs pr ior to the T reaty, as both the K i ngdom of Eng la nd a nd the K i ngdom of Scotla nd had sha red a mona rch si nce 1603 when K i ng Ja mes V I of Scotla nd i n her ited the Eng l ish th rone f rom Queen El izabeth I th roug h relation Th is was k now n of f icia l ly as the Un ion of Crow ns It was the T reaty of Un ion, however, that united the mona rchy u nder one crow n, a nd then eventua l ly one gover n ment
Due to the treaty, Queen A n ne was the f i rst a nd last mona rch f rom the House of Stua r t dy nasty to r u le over the Un ited K i ngdom of Great Br ita i n Si x yea rs pr ior to 1707, i n 1701, it had been decided
th roug h the Act of Settlement that Cathol ics were to be proh ibited f rom i n her iti ng the th rone a nd so Soph ia of Ha nover, a P rotesta nt a nd the g ra nddaug hter of Ja mes V I a nd I, wou ld become Queen A n ne s hei r A lthoug h A n ne had ma ny d i rect Cathol ic descenda nts, she had no su r v iv i ng ch i ld ren Soph ia of Ha nover was her closest protesta nt relative, wh ich mea nt i n 17 14, when Queen A n ne d ied, the House of Stua r t dy nasty ca me to a n end as the House of Ha nover succeeded the th rone
By th is time, however, Soph ia of Ha nover had d ied aged 83, a nd so her eldest son George i n her ited the crow n a nd beca me K i ng George I of Great Br ita i n George’s succession was controversia l, as ma ny people had n’t ag reed w ith the protesta nt succession that had been outl i ned i n the Act of Settlement, a nd as a resu lt r iots were docu mented across Eng la nd i n opposition to h is coronation Despite the i n itia l hosti l ity, George I reig ned as k i ng up u nti l h is death i n 1727 Du r i ng h is reig n, Br ita i n bega n to moder n ise a nd a cabi net gover n ment was for med, wh ich mea nt that the mona rchy held less power over pol itica l a f fa i rs
George’s son a nd hei r George II succeeded to the th rone i n October 1727 a f ter h is father’s death
Queen Elizabeth II, the current
3 June 1953
monarch of Great Britain, leaving Westminster Abbey as part of a procession after her coronation on
The birth of the British monarchy
Treaty of Union
How Engla nd a nd Scotla nd u n ited to form Great Brita i n a nd the British mona rchy
The United Kingdom of Great Britain was of f icially formed in 1707, when the Parliaments of England and Scotland passed the Treaty of Union agreement Prior to this date, England (including Wales) and Scotland were independent countries that had two separate governments The Treaty of Union was designed to merge the Kingdoms of England and Scotland together creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain
Negotiations to unite the countries began in 1705 under the reign of the English and Scottish monarch Queen Anne, although there had been several failed tempts prior to this date 31 commissioners were appointed by each Parliament to negotiate the terms, and talks began on 16 April 1706 at the Cockpit-in-Cour t in London Af ter a few days the Treaty was f inalised on 22 July 1706, and two separate acts of union were to be passed through each government before it was put into ef fect
The f irst act of union, known as the Union with Scotland Act, was passed by the Parliament of England in 1706, with the second the Union with England Act, being passed by the Parliament of Scotland shor tly af ter in 1707
The treaty itself consisted of 25 ar ticles, with two stating that one monarch was to rule over Great Britain and a single unified Parliament of Great Britain was to be formed In addition to this, agreements regarding trading between England and Scotland were set alongside the decision to introduce a common currenc y On 1 May 1707, England and Scotland of ficially united
The union between Great Britain and Ireland, however, did not occur for another 93 years It was during the reign of King George III that in 1800, Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland united to form what is now known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
To signif y the union the Union Flag incorporated the St Patrick s Cross
The official copy of the Treaty of Union, ratified by the parliaments of England and Scotland in 1707
British Royals
George II’s ow n son a nd hei r appa rent, Freder ick Lou is, P r i nce of Wa les, was nex t i n l i ne to become k i ng Freder ick, however, d ied u nexpected ly i n 1751 Th is mea n that i n 1760, a f ter K i ng George II’s death, Freder ick ’ s eldest son i n her ited the crow n, becom i ng George III
It was du r i ng George III’s reig n that Great Br ita i n a nd Irela nd u n ited cha ng i ng h is of f icia l title to K i ng George III of the Un ited K i ngdom of Great Br ita i n a nd Irela nd George III was a lso the f i rst mona rch of Great Br ita i n si nce its for mation i n 1707 to be bor n a nd ra ised i n the cou ntr y he r u led W h i le sovereig n, George saw Br ita i n th roug h ma ny m i l ita r y con f l icts, i nc lud i ng t he Battle of Waterloo i n 1815 H is ea rly reig n was considered successf u l However, he is of ten remembered th roug h h istor y for t he menta l i l l ness t hat pla g ued h i m i n later l ife, wh ich as a resu lt ea r ned h i m h is n ick na me ‘Mad George’ Du r i ng h is i l l ness, h is son a nd hei r appa rent, George the P r i nce of Wa les, ser ved as P r i nce Regent – a position that enabled h i m to exerc ise f u l l power as k i ng wh i le h is fat her was i ncapacitated Th is per iod is k now n as the Regency i n Br itish h istor y a nd Regent ’ s Pa rk as wel l as Regent Street i n London, was na med a f ter h i m
Upon George III’s death i n 1820, h is son, the P r i nce of Wa les, i n her ited the th rone a nd was titled K i ng George I V of the Un ited K i ngdom of Great Br ita i n a nd Irela nd George I V reig ned as k i ng for ten yea rs, a nd upon h is ow n passi ng , had no leg iti mate issue to i n her it t he t h rone H is you nger brother, Wi l l ia m I V, who was th i rd i n l i ne to the th rone du r i ng George I I I’s reig n, beca me K i ng Wi l l ia m h i mself reig ned for a relatively shor t per iod of ti me (1830 -1837), a nd a lso had no su r v iv i ng leg iti mate ch i ld ren at the ti me of h is death He was succeeded by h is you ng n iece Victor ia, P r i nce Edwa rd, Du ke of Kent a nd Strathea r n ’ s daug hter who was on ly 18 at the ti me
Anne
Royal coat of arms
How the roya l coat of a r ms represents the Un ited K ingdom of Great Br ita in a nd its mona rchy
Crowned golden lion
Tying
The shield
The
The supporters The English lion that appears on the lef t-hand side
Mottos Below the compar tment appears the sovereign s motto Dieu et mon droit which stands for God and my right’ And around the shield along the blue belt reads, Honi Soit qui mal y pense ’ (‘Evil to him who evil thinks ) which symbolises the ancient Knighthood the Order of the Gar ter
Scottish royal coat of arms
Name: Anne Bir th/death: 6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714
Reign: 1 May 1707 – 1 August 1714
Dynasty: House of Stuart Queen Anne had reigned as Queen of England and Scotland since 1702 However, the signing of the Treaty of Union in 1707 meant she became the f irst monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
George III
Name: George William Frederick
Bir th/death: 4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820 Reign: 25 October 1760 – 29 January 1820
Dynasty: House of Hanover
George III became King of Great Britain in 1760 af ter inheriting the throne from his grandfather King George II During his reign Great Britain and Ireland united to of f icially form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and in 1815 Britain defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo
George I
of Queen Anne’s passing in 17 14, George I was her closest protestant relative
George II
William IV
Name: William Henry Bir th/death: 21 August 1765 –20 June 1837
Reign: 26 June 1830 – 20 June 1837
Dynasty: House of Hanover
King William IV was the third son of King George III; he inherited the throne from his eldest brother, King George IV, who had no legitimate issue at the time of his death Upon William’s death in 1837, his 18-year-old niece Victoria inherited the throne
George IV
A
Victoria
Name: Alexandrina Victoria
Bir th/death: 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901
Reign: 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901
Dynasty: House of Hanover
Reigning for over 63 years up until her death in 1901 Queen Victoria was the longestreigning monarch until Elizabeth II Victoria was known as the Grandmother of Europe af ter most of her children were married of f into European royal families
Edward VII
Name: Albert Edward
Bir th/death: 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910
Reign: 22 January 1901 – 6 May 1910
Dynasty: House of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha
Queen Victoria s eldest son and heir inherited the throne af ter her death, becoming King Edward VII
Due to his mother s long reign he was the longest ser ving heir apparent in British histor y, until 2011 when Charles Prince of Wales surpassed it
The birth of the British monarchy
of King
Edward VIII
Name: Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Bir th/death: 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972
Reign: 20 January 1936 – 11 December 1936
Dynasty: House of Windsor Edward VIII was the only British monarch to abdicate af ter Parliament opposed his intent to marr y Wallis Simpson
He
from
Queen El izabeth II beca me the longest reig n i ng Br itish mona rch i n September 2015 when she su r passed the prev ious record, held by Queen Victor ia Victor ia i n her ited the th rone i n 1837 a nd reig ned for 63 yea rs u nti l her death i n 1901 She rema i ns one of the most fa mous Br itish mona rchs i n h istor y Du r i ng her reig n, a lso k now n as the Victor ia n era Great Br ita i n moder n ised tha n ks to the i ndustr ia l revolution a nd cha nges to pol itics the m i l ita r y, science a nd cu ltu re Victor ia was a lso the last mona rch to reig n f rom the House of Ha nover Her son a nd successor K i ng Edwa rd V II reig ned (1901-1910) customa r i ly u nder h is father’s dy nastic na me, the House of Sa xe - Cobu rg a nd Gotha In 1917, however, seven yea rs a f ter Edwa rd V II’s son George V i n her ited the th rone, the house na me was cha nged to Wi ndsor as resu lt of World Wa r I (1914-1918) a nd a nti- Ger ma n senti ment
The cu r rent Br itish mona rchy sti l l reig ns u nder the House of Wi ndsor na me today, a nd it was f i rst i n her ited by George V ’ s son a nd successor, Edwa rd V III, i n 1936 A s the on ly mona rch si nce the u n ion of Great Br ita i n i n 1707 to abd icate the th rone Edwa rd V III reig ned for less tha n a yea r H is decision to abd icate was a resu lt of h is w ish to ma r r y the d ivorced A mer ica n socia l ite, Wa l l is Si mpson, wh ich at the ti me caused outcr y a nd con f l icted w ith h is role as the Head of the Chu rch of Eng la nd Upon Edwa rd’s abd ication, h is brother A lber t ascended to the th rone, a nd was for ma l ly styled K i ng George V I Due to George V I’s succession, h is eldest daug hter El izabeth beca me hei r appa rent to the th rone In 1952, she beca me Queen El izabeth II upon her father’s death El izabeth II is the cu r rent mona rch of Great Br ita i n a nd the longest reig n i ng sovereig n i n Br itish h istor y In 2012 she celebrated her Dia mond Jubi lee, a f ter 60 yea rs as Queen, a nd she celebrated her 90th bi r thday i n 2016
George VI
Name: Albert, Frederick Arthur George
Bir th/death: 14 December 1895 –6 February 1952
Reign: 11 December 1936 –6 February 1952
Dynasty: House of Windsor
George VI reigned as King of Great Britain until his death in 1952 During his reign, Great Britain went to war with Nazi Germany Ireland declared itself a republic, and the British Empire transitioned into the Commonwealth of Nations
George V
Name: George Frederick Ernest Albert Bir th/death: 3rd June 1865 – 20th January 1936
Reign: 6th May 1910 – 20th January 1936
Dynasty: House of Windsor
During George V ’ s reign, the First World War broke out While other empires fell he was able to expand the British one In 1917, due to ill feeling as a result of the war he changed the
Elizabeth II
Name: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary B r th/death: 21 April 1926 – present day
Reign: 1952 – present day
Dynasty: House of Windsor
Queen Elizabeth II is the current monarch of Great Britain and Head of the Commonwealth She is the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, af ter over 65 years on the throne
portrait
George III
reigned
1760-1820 but suffered from mental illness resulting in a regency being established in 1811
British Royals
1066-1087
From the illegitimate son of a duke to the holder of the English crow n, Willia m I conquered detractors, k ings a nd even the odds to become one of Brita in’s most memorable rulers
In 1028, Wi l l ia m was bor n i nto a per iod r i fe w it h v iolence a nd d isorder Despite ever y noblema n ow i ng fea lty to the K i ng of Fra nce ma ny duch ies a nd f iefdoms were i n consta nt f lu x as pol itica l a l l ia nces chopped a nd cha nged at a moment ’ s notice Fra nce itself had been at wa r w ith its r iva l Fla nders for yea rs, creati ng a n i ntense a i r of con f l ict across much of Wester n Eu rope
Wi l l ia m ’ s soc ia l status was a lso of some contention H is father, Rober t I, Du ke of Nor ma ndy, never ma r r ied h is mother, Herleva of Fa la ise, so the you ng Nor ma n was bor n a basta rd However, Wi l l ia m wou ld be Rober t ’ s on ly ch i ld, so the presence of h is father’s blood was strong enoug h for the du ke to na me h i m as h is hei r So ser ious was he about it that he gathered a group of Norma n mag nates i n Ja nua r y 1034 to swea r fea lty to Wi l l ia m as Rober t s tr ue successor Soon a f ter, Rober t lef t on a pi lg r i mage to Jer usa lem Over a yea r later, Rober t fel l i l l on h is retu r n f rom the Holy La nd a nd d ied i n Nicaea, Greece A nd so, at the age of eig ht, Wi l l ia m i n her ited one of t he most power f u l pol itica l positions i n Fra nce
T he f i rst few yea rs of Wi l l ia m ’ s tenu re as D u ke of Nor ma ndy were su r pr isi ng ly smooth, mostly due
to two considerably powerf u l suppor ters – na mely h is g reat-u ncle A rchbishop Rober t a nd the k i ng of Fra nce Hen r y I Such i n f luentia l a l l ies enabled Wi l l ia m to reta i n t he fea lt y over t he Nor ma n nobles he’d i n her ited f rom h is father but such suppor t was not mea nt to last With the k i ng preoccupied w ith the costly conf lict w ith Fla nders, a nd A rchbishop Rober t passi ng away i n Ma rch 1037, Wi l l ia m ’ s duc hy soon descended i nto chaos Event ua l ly a g roup of Wi l l ia m ’ s detractors for med a n u neasy a l l ia nce a nd led a revolt aga i nst h i m Led by h is cousi n, Guy of Bu rg u ndy, the revolters attempted to captu re the du ke at Va log nes, a com mu ne i n nor thwester n Fra nce – however, the du ke escaped a nd soug ht ref uge w ith the French k i ng The du ke may have been you ng , but the title of k i ng was qu ite the tr u mp ca rd to play
Blood ties were common in the royalty at the time. Edward the Confessor was William’s first cousin, once removed Brief Bio
Wi l l ia m ret u r ned to Nor ma ndy i n t he ea rly months of 1047 w ith K i ng Hen r y at h is side a nd thei r a r m ies consol idated i nto one considerable force T he rebel a r my out nu mbered Wi l l ia m ’ s, but it lacked the leadersh ip prov ided by the k i ng ’ s ow n el ite The Battle of Va l- ès-Du nes descended i nto a nu mber of sk i r m ishes, but the rebel a r my soon
WILLIAM OF NORMANDY
Whether he’s remembered as William the Conqueror or by the lesser-known moniker William the Bastard, he was one of Britain’s most influential monarchs With Viking blood in his veins, he united his Norman homeland with the feudal fiefdoms of England but faced a battle to maintain his new crown Normandy, 1028–1087
Despite his inf luential position in the histor y of the monarchy, no authentic portrait of William is in existence
During his reign, William crossed the Channel about 19 times
British Royals
Life in the time of William I
A nation divided
When William became king, he discovered a government far more complicated than Normandy s own The countr y was divided into shires and counties, with these territories fur ther divided into wapentakes (an old Norse word that refers to small meeting places)
Strength in stone
During his early reign William commissioned a number of castles, keeps and mottes (a wooden or stone structure erected on raised ear th) One of the most memorable of these was the White Tower, which remains the central structure of the Tower of London
The hunting king
According to the medieval chronicler William of Malmesbur y, William depopulated large swathes of land in the south of England in 1079 (36 parishes to be precise), to create the royal New Forest for hunting
Forging ties
With his alliances and political standing in Normandy, William forged long-lasting ties between England and France that lasted for much of the Middle A ges (despite political and militar y clashes) His Viking roots also created a closer bond with Scandinavia
The
royal family
William had nine legitimate children with his wife, Matilda of Flanders His sons were Rober t, Richard, William and Henr y, his daughters were Adeliza Cecilia Matilda Constance Adela and A gatha
William is born While the exact date of his bir th remains an issue of contention among historians, we do know that he was born in Falaise He was the only son of Rober t I and Herleva of Falaise 1028
“ Wi l l ia m ’ s forces were able to rout
Ha rold ’ s men l i ke catt le. A nd a f ter n i ne or so hou rs of batt le, t he f ig ht was over ”
broke apa r t a nd Wi l l ia m f i na l ly establ ished h is author ity over the Duchy of Nor ma ndy W hen Wi l l ia m f i na l ly t u r ned h is attention to the k i ngdom across the Cha n nel, h is cla i m held more mer it tha n most The Eng l ish mona rch at t he t i me, K i ng Edwa rd I, had na med Wi l l ia m as h is successor (they were, i n fact, d ista nt cousi ns) a nd a cha nce meeti ng w ith the most powerf u l ea rl i n E ng la nd, Ha rold G odw i nson, i n 106 4/5 a lso secu red h is suppor t shou ld the du ke move to i n her it the th rone Accord i ng to Wi l l ia m of Poitiers, a Frenc h pr iest who ser ved as the of f icia l c h ron ic ler of Wi l l ia m ’ s i nvasion, the du ke had the back i ng of a l most a l l the lords a nd ea rls i n Nor ma ndy as wel l as the back i ng of the Holy Roma n Emperor, Hen r y V I He even had the suppor t of the pope, if Pol iter s cla i ms a re to be bel ieved Either way, over a per iod of a rou nd seven months, he gathered a f leet of 600 sh ips w ith roug h ly 7,000 men (2,000 -3,000 of these were cava l r y) It was a n i mpressive force desig ned for one th i ng: to conquer a k i ngdom
Ha rold had just ret u r ned f rom repel l i ng a nother i nvasion by the K i ng of Nor way Ha rold Ha rd rada a nd had r ushed back to the capita l a f ter hea r i ng of t he Nor ma n i ncu rsion Wi l l ia m told Ha rold t hat h is cla i m to the th rone was i nva l id a nd that he shou ld rel i nqu ish the th rone i m med iately or a l low the pope to ma ke a n absolute decision Ha rold, u nsu r pr isi ng ly, decl i ned a nd the two leaders met i n Hasti ngs on 14 October 1066
Reports state that William was around 5’10”, which was incredibly tall for a man of this time
Wi l l ia m f i na l ly made la nd fa l l on 28 September 1066 They had a r r ived at Pevensey i n the south of E ng la nd, but Wi l l ia m soon sent a n envoy to London to spea k w ith the A ng lo -Sa xon k i ng
Defining moment
William is double-crossed January 1066
In the yea rs lead ing to h is death Edwa rd the Confessor na med Willia m, the Duke of Nor ma ndy, as h is f uture successor However, a lthough Willia m d id v isit Engla nd a couple of times in Edwa rd s f ina l yea rs it was d if f icult for h im to leave the delicate politica l ecosystem back in Nor ma ndy W hen the k ing d ied, Ha rold Godw inson (sometimes simply refer red to as Hen r y Godw in) took adva ntage of Willia m’s absence a nd, aga inst the late k ing’s w ishes, cla imed the crow n for h imself The Godw ins were one of if not the most powerf ul a nd inf luentia l fa m ilies in Engla nd at the time Hen r y would be the last A nglo -Sa xon k ing of Engla nd
Inheriting the duchy
When he was round the age of seven or eight, William s father Rober t passed away With his death, the title of duke and its political responsibilities fell to the young boy 1035
William and Godwinson meet Harold Godwinson, who later became King Harold II of England, was shipwrecked of f the coast of Normandy William and Henr y met during this time and Henr y endorsed William’s claim to the English throne 1064
The Battle of Hasti ngs was a bloody a f fa i r Repor ts a nd specu lations f rom h istor ia ns d if fer on the size of Ha rold’s a r my but a major ity ag ree that it was roug h ly the sa me size as Wi l l ia m ’ s T he on ly rea l d if ferences? Diversity a nd ex haustion Despite a br ief stop i n London Ha rold had ma rched a g reat dea l of the a r my he used to defeat Ha rold Ha rd rada i n the nor th dow n to the south i n just two weeks Despite thei r tra i n i ng , the men were fatig ued a nd i n no state to face a f resh Nor ma n conti ngent Ha rold’s forces were a l most enti rely made up of i n fa ntr y ma n, wh ich was l i kely the decid i ng factor i n the battle With plenty of a rc hers a nd cava l r y, Wi l l ia m ’ s forces were able to rout Ha rold’s men l i ke cattle A nd a f ter n i ne or so hou rs of battle, the f ig ht was over Ha rold was dead a nd Wi l l ia m was now t he de facto K i ng of E ng la nd
The invasion begins Af ter assuring his af fairs were in order in Normandy, William arrived at Pevensey in the South of England with a large invasion force
Once all of his troops had disembarked, William led his force into Hastings 28 September 1066
The W hite Tower is the central str ucture of the Tower of London and was started by William the Conqueror
Fol low i ng h is coronation on 25 December 1066, Wi l l ia m d iscovered t hat presid i ng over a duc hy was a world away f rom r u l i ng a k i ngdom Defeati ng Ha rold at Hasti ngs a nd ta k i ng the capita l shou ld have cemented h is posit ion, but Wi l l ia m ’ s a r r iva l was more tha n just the ascension of a new k i ng – it was the end of the A ng lo -Sa xon era Wi l l ia m was ca ref u l not to upend t he soc ia l equ i l ibr iu m of Eng la nd’s nobi l ity but a back lash was i nev itable Wi l l ia m foug ht to conta i n a ser ies of revolts i n Dover, Exeter, Hereford, Notti ng ha m, Du rha m a nd York, but it was the revolt led by Edga r the Athel i ng that was the most severe –not on ly i n its potentia l th reat, but a lso for how a g g ressively Wi l l ia m dea lt w it h it
The revolt centred on Edga r the Athel i ng , the on ly rema i n i ng i nd iv idua l w it h a leg it i mate c la i m to Wi l l ia m ’ s seat of power A nd when Swey n I I, K i ng of Den ma rk, of fered h is suppor t i n 1070, the Nor ma n g r ip on the nor th was broken The reg ion bega n to destabi l ise w ith revolts a nd civ i l u n rest, a nd Edga r a nd Swey n ’ s forces soon took the key strong hold of York Wi l l ia m i m med iately ma rched f rom Notti ng ha m w ith h is ow n forces to settle the rebel l ion, but by the ti me he got there the revolt had a l l but d issolved Edga r f led to Scotla nd a nd Swey n lef t su itably pa id of f by the k i ng However, Wi l l ia m was fa r f rom a mood to g ra nt c lemenc y He a nd h is troops scou red the la nd f rom York to the borders of Scotla nd i n Nor thu mbr ia So severe was t he devastation t hat Wi l l ia m enacted on the nor th that the Domesday Book (wh ich was conducted i n 1086) revea led that a rou nd 100,000 people d ied f rom sta r vation a lone fol low i ng Wi l l ia m ’ s ‘ha r row i ng ’ Consider i ng t he census revea led t he popu lat ion to be 2 5 m i l l ion, suc h a f ig u re shows just how fa r the new k i ng wou ld go to bu r n h is legacy i nto Eng la nd’s h istor y books
Defining moment
The Ha r row i ng of the Nor th, as it ca me to be k now n, was just one of t he ma ny con f l icts Wi l l ia m had to dea l w ith th roug hout h is 21-yea r reig n He was conti nua l ly dea l i ng w it h issues w it h h is neig hbou rs (such as h is clashes w ith the k i ng of Scotla nd i n 1072), rebel l ions a mong h is ow n gentr y (na mely the Revolt of the Ea rls i n 1075) a nd even qua r rels w ith h is ow n ch i ld ren Between h is native duties as Du ke of Nor ma ndy a nd as K i ng of E ng la nd Wi l l ia m was forced to sol id i f y h is legac y w ith politica l ma rriages, tr uces a nd m ilita r y force
By the ti me of h is death on 9 September 1087, Wi l l ia m had ma i nta i ned h is aut hor ity over bot h Nor ma ndy a nd Eng la nd for over two decades He bu i lt over 50 castles a nd for tif ications du r i ng h is reig n, deter m i ned not on ly to rem i nd the people of the la nd who thei r mona rch was, but to protect the nation f rom the ver y act he’d ta ken the th rone w ith W h i le h is acts of domestic g row th a nd merci less v iolence have been la rgely overshadowed by h is i nvasion, the ma n h i mself rema i ns a def i n i ng f ig u re on those stor ied pages
The Domesday Book
In the years that followed the taking of the English crown, it became clear that of f icial records relating to population and landholding were nearly nonexistent
Almost 19 years af ter his invasion, while spending Christmas in Gloucester with his advisors William decided a census was needed It seems likely it was planned as a way to determine how to restructure taxes across the nation The Domesday Book (or The Great Sur vey as it was known then) was split into two documents; the Little Domesday’ (which covered Suf folk, Essex and Nor folk) and the ‘Great Domesday’ (a larger document that covered the rest of the countr y) Interestingly, these documents did not cover the entire nation This was for many reasons – for example, Westmorland and Cumberland were absent as both formed par t of the Kingdom of Strathclyde until they were conquered by his son, William II, in 1092 Elsewhere, London and Winchester were lef t out because of their special tax status, while the County of Durham was omitted because the Bishop of Durham held ecclesiastical rights to tax that county
The Battle of Hastings 14 October 1066
P r ior to the ma in battles w ith the invad ing Nor ma ns, K ing Ha rold had a lready ex hausted h is m ilita r y forces defeating another invad ing force led by Nor weg ia n mona rch Ha rold Ha rd rada at Sta mford Br idge Interestingly, K ing Ha rold k new that Wi l lia m was com ing before Ha rd rada’s Sca nd inav ia n force a r r ived, however the Nor ma n forces rema ined moored of f the coast for a lmost seven months before d isemba rk ing Accounts relating to the size both forces d if fer g reatly, but it’s assumed they were lead ing a r m ies of between 7,000 a nd 10,000 men Willia m’s forces a re ultimately successf ul, using the considerable number of cava lr y men a nd a rchers to wea r dow n the English contingent K ing Ha rold d ied on the battlef ield a f ter ta k ing a n a r row to the eye
William takes London
Despite defeating the king and the remainder of his standing army England was far from won Earls and lords loyal to the English king barred William s entr y into Winchester and London but the Norman usurper soon over whelmed them and took control of the royal treasur y October-November 1066
Crowning a new king
With most of Harold s suppor ters either dead or in f light William was crowned King William I of England One of his f irst actions was to reaf f irm the titles and lands of many earls but strip those of Harold s suppor ters 25 December 1066
Defining moment Harrowing of the North 1070
Willia m had defeated or outlived most of the leg itimate cla ima nts to the English th rone but one still rema ined Edga r the Atheling had a g reat dea l of suppor t in the nor th of Engla nd a nd when Swey n II of Den ma rk la nded in 1069, Edga r’s cla im beca me a rea l th reat In 1070 he pa id the Da nes to leave a nd bega n to attack the la nd a round Edga r s suppor ters Over the next few months he destroyed livestock a nd fa r m la nd, a nd k illed (accord ing to repor ts) thousa nds of men women a nd ch ild ren Willia m s a im was to ensure they would never, ever revolt aga in
Returning to Normandy Af ter his coronation William returned to Normandy to ensure his lands were intact While there, he had a number of new monasteries built
He also met with most of his nobles and earls all of whom were eager to learn of possible new wealth and holdings 1067
Hereward the Wake
Despite promising to leave England for good, Sweyn II of Denmark returned a few months later and joined the growing uprising led by nor thern theign
Hereward the Wake William forced Sweyn to leave yet again and soon brought this, the last of the nor thern revolts to an end 1070
The Great Survey In order to determine the true wor th of his English kingdom (and to unravel the holdings and lands of his earls) William commissioned a countr y wide consensus While not ever y par t of the nation was covered it still ser ves as the most detailed record from the Middle A ges 1086
Death of a king
Despite the relative militar y success of his reign his f inal days were remarkably uneventful
While on a militar y expedition against France, William either fell from his horse or became ill and died soon af ter 9 September 1087
Even though King Harold’s forces had defeated one invasion and marched hundreds of miles f rom Newcastle to the south, they still fought valiantly in the face of William s superior cavalr y and archers
Although not the eldest heir of William I, William II was the Conqueror’s favourite and as such bequeathed England
WILLIAM II OF ENGLAND
Normandy, 1056-1100
William II
An outspoken king he used force to influence Scotland and control Normandy Heav y taxes and a turbulent relationship with the church led to resentment within his kingdom
1087-1100
The ruddy-cheeked k ing who histor y remembers as a forcible soldier, a ha rd-hea rted ruler a nd loathed by his highly-taxed subjects
Blonde, red- c heeked a nd wel l-set, Wi l l ia m I I, bor n i n Nor ma ndy i n 1056, was the th i rd son of Wi l l ia m I ( Wi l l ia m t he Conqueror) a nd
Mati lda of Fla nders H is r uddy complex ion was the focus of the va r ious n ick na mes i nspi red du r i ng h is 13-yea r reig n, most notably Wi l l ia m Ruf us, Wi l l ia m t he Red a nd t he Red K i ng William II s ascent to power in 1087 is perhaps one of the most flagrant displays of favouritism ever practised by a sovereign, as before his father William I (William the Conqueror) died, he arranged for his third and favourite son, William II, to succeed him as King of England This was a decision the Conqueror felt was his right as he had won the country by war William I’s eldest son and William II’s only surviving
older brother, Robert, who’d previously rebelled against his father, was bequeathed the Duchy of Normandy as tradition dictated William I’s decision to effectively divide his kingdom in two might have seemed like a good idea at the time but it troubled many nobles who owned land on both sides of the channel They were all too aware of the bitter rivalry between the brothers, which began in, and had snowballed since, childhood Knowing it impossible to keep favour with both rulers, the lords followed the leadership of Bishop Odo of Bayeux (half-brother of William I) and sided with Robert, who was the more amiable and perceived weaker of the two, in the hope of uniting the kingdom once again The rebellion collapsed in
third son of William I, was known as William Rufus, William the Red and the Red King due to his ruddy complexion
1088, less than a year into their respective reigns, when Robert failed to show up to support the English rebels, so William won them over with silver and promises of a better government William, ever the firebrand, laid claim to Normandy in 1091 and waged war against the sibling who he defeated forcing him to cede a portion of his land After the conflict, the pair were able to kiss and make up, and William even agreed to help Robert regain control of areas of his land lost to France
It wasn’t only in the south that William was forced to engage in battle during that year, as later in 1091 he successfully stopped a Scottish invasion led by King Malcolm III, who was then finally forced to pay homage to the English King and accept his overlordship A year later William decided to annex Cumbria from Scotland and ordered the construction of Carlisle Castle In 1093 Malcolm retaliated by invading and ravaging Northumbria but met his end, along with his son Edward, at the Battle of Alnwick after being overpowered by William s stronger and better organised army William was then free to wield his influence in Scotland unrestricted by using the succession of subordinated Scottish kings as vassals In 1095 Robert de Mowbray, the man who had helped lead William to victory against the Scots, sparked a rebellion with an
assortment of other barons to depose the king in place of Stephen of Aumale Robert was defeated and imprisoned, whereas his co-lead conspirator, William of Eu, was castrated and blinded
As well as his conflicts with his brother and nobles, as well as France and Scotland, William was also vilified for his discord with the church Among other quarrels he left bishop positions vacant so that he might take the revenues for himself and his turbulent relationship with the very popular Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury, who was considered one of the greatest theologians of his generation, led to a long period of animosity between the church and state, souring public opinion against the king
Resentment continued to fester across William’s kingdom, a problem he seemed not too bothered about In 1096, he remained unaffected as he made it a whole lot worse The king’s brother Robert had become inspired to join the First Crusade, a military expedition by Roman Catholic Europe to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant (632-661) Finding himself without the funds to raise an army, Robert mortgaged the Duchy of Normandy to his bemused younger brother who became regent in Robert’s absence To pay for this exchange, William levelled a heavy and muchresented tax on his English subjects, helping to cement his legacy as a cruel and unpopular leader
William died in mysterious circumstances, when a rogue arrow killed him while out hunting in the New Forest
The king, who was a huge fan of hunting and feasting, met his end on 2 August 1100 (aged 43/44) While out hunting deer in the New Forest, a rogue arrow pierced his chest It is claimed that his body was abandoned by the nobles in his hunting party, and was later stumbled upon by peasants who took it by cart to Winchester Cathedral where it would go on to be buried
It was accepted as an accident, but some theorised of an assignation as Sir Walter Tyrrell, who was considered an accomplished bowman, immediately fled to France William’s younger brother Henry was also with the hunting party and rode straight to Winchester to seize the treasury He had himself elected the following day
The curse of the New Forest
The curse of the New Forest didn t just claim William II s life; in fact, three descendents of the New Forest’s ‘creator’ William the Conqueror died in its leaf y glades The f irst was his second eldest son Richard who is said to have become sick from the fog g y ‘pestilent’ air The next was William II in a hunting “accident” The third was Richard William I’s grandson who accidently hanged himself when his horse ran under a low hanging tree branch At the time many sug gested it was a form of karmic retribution or curse, as the king had razed entire villages across Hampshire to create his new hunting forest Nova Foresta at the expense of more than 36 parish churches, 20 small hamlets and several isolated farmsteads, leaving hundreds of people homeless
Life in the time of William II
Fabulously flamboyant
The cour t of the Red King, who was rumoured to be homosexual was described by 12th Centur y historian William of Malmesbur y (1095-1143) as being ”f illed with ’ef feminate‘ young men in extravagant clothes mincing about in shoes with cur ved points A s well as cur ved-toe shoes, fur-lined cloaks and long, ornamented and embroidered tunics were popular among men of money at this time
Take him to the Tower
In 1078 the White Tower, (at the Tower of London) was built Commissioned by William the Conqueror, the monument was seen as a symbol of oppression by London’s residents, and acted as a constant visual reminder of their countr y ’ s defeat to the Normans
Learning and literacy in the 12th Century
While the majority of people living in England during William II s reign were illiterate education took a dramatic leap for ward at this time Although Oxford University has no known date of foundation there is evidence that shows teaching took place at Oxford in some form during 1096 This makes the institution the oldest English-speaking university and the second-oldest sur viving university in the world
Medieval yellow pages
The f irst widespread compilation of land and proper ty took place across England af ter William the Conqueror’s successful invasion, resulting in the 1086 Domesday Book It was commissioned so the new ruler could astutely assess all his new possessions Interestingly, some towns, such as London and Winchester, were not included in the Domesday Book due to their tax-exempt status
It’s all about the Crusades
Anyone who was anyone with a burning loyalty to the Roman Catholic church joined the First Crusade This was a widespread pilgrimage that saw tens of thousands of Europeans travel to the Middle East to regain the Holy lands taken by the Muslim conquests of Levant some 400 years earlier
The nicknames Red King and Rufus referred to William’s ruddy complexion and red cheeks not his hair which was blonde
The Rufus Stone in the New Forest marks the place of William’s death
William was killed in the New Forest
HENRY I ‘BEAUCLERC’
England, 1068-1135
Brief Bio
Henr y I fourth and youngest son of William I is celebrated as the most effective of all the Conqueror s sons He righted the wrongs of his brother by streng thening the crown’s executive powers modernising royal administration and establishing a professional bureaucracy on both sides of the channel
Henr y was one of the most well-educated kings England had ever known, earning him the ‘Beauclerc’ nickname
1100-1135
Despite procla iming himself k ing while his brother’s body was still wa rm, Henr y I proved himself a worthy mona rch
Whet her K i ng Wi l l ia m I I d ied as t he resu lt of a m isti med or a wel l-ti med hu nti ng
a r row is a myster y W hat we k now is that just moments a f ter it happened, h is you nger brother Hen r y raced to Wi nchester to seize the treasu r y a nd decla re h i mself k i ng over h is oldest brother Rober t
T he Nor ma n brothers Rober t Wi l l ia m a nd Hen r y were renow ned for thei r r iva l r y, but the rea l trouble bega n when t hei r fat her, Wi l l ia m t he Conqueror, d ied a nd lef t Nor ma ndy to h is oldest son, Rober t, a nd Eng la nd to h is next su r v iv i ng son, Wi l l ia m
Hen r y, the fou r th a nd on ly other rema i n i ng son, was si mply g iven money to buy la nd a nd he chose Cotenti n i n Wester n Nor ma ndy, where he establ ished h i mself as the cou nt
W hen Rober t dec ided to c ha l lenge Wi l l ia m ’ s cla i m to the Eng l ish th rone, he neutra l ised f u r ther
th reat by i mpr ison i ng Hen r y A f ter the con f l ict
Hen r y was released a nd a l lowed to retu r n home –a lbeit str ipped of h is t it le So when Wi l l ia m i nvaded Nor ma ndy i n 1091, Hen r y made su re he pledged a l leg ia nce to Rober t, but later lost h is favou r when he out-shadowed h i m i n combat Consequently, both sovereig n brothers overlooked Hen r y when they reconci led a nd d rew up a treaty that saw the other as thei r r ig htf u l hei r of thei r respective k i ngdoms Decid i ng he was better of f on h is ow n, Hen r y foug ht aga i nst both brothers i n the yea rs that fol lowed, ta k i ng la nd for h i mself i n Nor ma ndy Sensi ng a n oppor tu n ity for conspi racy, Wi l l ia m sent money to h is you nger brother to streng then h is ca mpa ig n aga i nst Rober t Hen r y v isited Wi l l ia m of ten at cou r t a nd for t u itously was present when he d ied, ma k i ng h i m able to cla i m the th rone for h i mself
Hen r y k new that, wh i le cla i m i ng it had been relatively stra ig htfor wa rd, hold i ng on to the th rone wou ld be a g reat dea l more cha l leng i ng A s the you ngest son, Hen r y was not expected to become r u ler, so had been per m itted ti me a nd oppor tu n ity to i nvest i n h is education Hen r y used h is sha r pened m i nd to secu re the ba rons as a l l ies by g ra nti ng favou rs, prom isi ng a better- orchestrated gover n ment a nd pledg i ng to restore peace to Eng la nd In a show of respect for h is new people, a few months a f ter he ca me to power Hen r y ma r r ied the Sa xon P r i ncess Ed ith daug hter of K i ng Ma lcol m III (who was k i l led by h is brother s a r my du r i ng the Scottish i nvasion i n 1093) The u n ion a lso helped to soothe tensions between the two neig hbou r i ng cou ntr ies Ed ith beca me k now n as Matilda, Henr y ’ s mother’s na me, to please the Nor ma n Ba rons, a nd together the pa i r had two ch i ld ren, Mati lda i n 1102 a nd Wi l l ia m i n 1103
With Nor ma ndy now u nder h is control, Hen r y was prov i ng h i mself a powerf u l a nd decisive leader on both sides of the cha n nel In Eng la nd he streng thened loca l gover n ment, sent judges of f a rou nd the cou ntr y to rei n force the law a nd created i nstitutions such as the Roya l Exchequer In Nor ma ndy, Hen r y gover ned th roug h a g row i ng system of justices a nd a n exchequer H is preference to promote ‘ new men ’ who were i ntel l igent a nd had r isen th roug h the ra n ks as opposed to those of h ig h status, proved the ad m i n istration’s ma k i ng Hen r y reversed ma ny of Wi l l ia m s less popu la r pol icies, ma k i ng w ide -ra ng i ng concessions i n h is Cha r ter of Liber ties a nd retu r n i ng to the gentler customs of Edwa rd the Con fessor He was able to soothe the wou nds i n f l icted on the chu rch by h is older brother, restor i ng a sense of peace
W h i le Hen r y ’ s professiona l l ife went f rom streng th to streng th, h is persona l l ife suf fered a trag ic blow In 1118 h is w ife d ied, fol lowed two yea rs later by t hei r son, Wi l l ia m P r i nce Wi l l ia m was on-boa rd a vessel k now n as The W h ite Sh ip, t ravel l i ng bac k to E ng la nd, when it h it some rocks outside a Nor ma n ha rbou r a nd sa n k Some 300 crew members a nd passengers, i nclud i ng a n i l leg iti mate son a nd daug hter of Hen r y s, a lso d row ned
Henr y, the fourth and youngest son of William the Conqueror, was the only heir to be born in England
In 1101, Rober t resu rfaced f rom the Fi rst Cr usade a nd attempted to seize the crow n yet aga i n The i nvasion was thwa r ted a nd the brothers comprom ised sig n i ng the T reaty of A lton i n wh ich Rober t recog n ised h is you nger sibl i ng as the tr ue K i ng of Eng la nd i n excha nge for Nor ma n ter r itor ies Peace d id n t last long a nd just f ive yea rs later news of Rober t s chaotic reig n reached Hen r y s cou r t, prompti ng h i m to i nvade The wa r ended i n Hen r y ’ s favou r at the Battle of T i nchebra i Hen r y decided to stop Rober t once a nd for a l l, i mpr ison i ng h i m i n Ca rd if f Castle for the rest of h is l ife, wh ich tu r ned out to be nea rly th ree decades
William Clito: the true heir?
Fi nd i ng h i mself w ithout a leg it i mate son, Hen r y ’ s t houg hts tu r ned to the succession a nd he ma r r ied Adel icia of Louva i n W hen the u n ion proved c h i ld less, Hen r y su m moned h is on ly legitimate ch ild, Matilda, a nd h is g ra ndson Hen r y ( later Hen r y II) back to Eng la nd a nd w i l led h is ba rons to accept her as h is hei r The problem wasn’t on ly that Mati lda was a woma n; those at cou r t were upset that Mati lda who was the w idow of Hen r y V Holy Roma n Emperor had ma r r ied George Pla ntagenet of the House of A njou, r iva ls of the house of Nor ma ndy A lthoug h the ba rons swore thei r a l leg ia nce i n 1131, they weren t conv i nced W hen Hen r y d ied a f ter a week of food poison i ng i n Nor ma ndy i n 1135, t he th rone was seized by Hen r y ’ s nephew, Stephen of Blois Th is spa rked a succession cr isis a nd a civ i l wa r k now n as The A na rchy
When Henr y imprisoned his older brother Rober t in Cardif f Castle for attempting to take the English crown for the umpteenth time Rober t’s son William Clito was understandably resentful So like father, like son, William decided to rebel, once in 1116 and again in 1119, suppor ted by several Norman barons who disliked Henr y ’ s ‘ new men ’ of f icials and high taxes Henr y proved victorious at the Battle of Bremule and a peace settlement was agreed upon in 1120 with the French king’s backing, accepting Henr y ’ s son, William Adelin as Duke of Normandy Dispute over the throne reignited when Prince William drowned, resulting in more quarrels and rebellions William Clito died without an heir when a wound he received from a foot soldier turned gangrenous
Clito,
Historical biographers refer to the raven-haired king as short, stocky and barrel-chested
Life in the time of Henry I
A friendly Viking invasion
During the autumn and winter months of the year 1107 Nor wegian King Sigurd the Crusader and his army travelled through, and stayed in, England during their southward journey to Palestine They were on their way to join the pilgrimage of Roman Catholic fighters in the First Crusade
Joined at the hip, literally
In 1100 supposedly the world’s f irst recorded conjoined twins were born, sparking interest in the pair Mar y and Eliza Chulkhurst, known as the Biddenden Maids were joined at the shoulder and the hip According to legend Mar y died suddenly aged 34, followed by Eliza six hours later af ter refusing to be separated
Family of sinners
Throughout his reign, Henr y I went to great leng ths to right the wrongs his family had inflicted on the church including ordering the construction of new churches and abbeys At the founding of Reading Abbey in 1121 (which was to become his f inal resting place) Henr y said for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, my brother ”
Best-selling novels
During this period, William of Malmesbur y, the most respected historian of the 12th Centur y f inished his f irst version of his historical accounts of England Gesta Regum Anglorum (Deeds of the Kings of the English) and Gesta Pontificum Anglorum (Deeds of the English Bishops) in 1125
Cathedral set backs
Work on St Paul s Cathedral began at the end of Henr y ’ s father’s reign in 1087 and took over 200 years to complete In 1136 a f ire delayed construction The cathedral was formally f inished in 1314 but was completely gutted in during The Great Fire of London in 1666
William
Count of Flanders, mortally wounded during the siege of Alost
Stephen rebuked the slur of ‘oath-breaker’ by say ing that he only swore to protect the stability of the kingdom
KING STEPHEN (OF BLOIS)
France, 1097-1154
Brief Bio
King Stephen’s reign is a tale of oneupmanship, doublecrossings, promises and broken promises that ultimately divided and destroyed much of the kingdom he had sworn to protect The Anarchy civil war, which became synonymous with his time at the helm, played out like a game of chess against his powerful opponent Empress Matilda, daughter and heir of Henr y I, for nearly two decades
1135-1154
K ing Stephen’s usurpation tore the countr y apa rt w ith a 19-yea r civ il wa r. But w ith little ga ined a nd Henr y I’s succession restored, was it worth it?
Bor n i n Blois, centra l Fra nce, at the end of 11th Centu r y, Stephen was the fou r th son of the Cou nt Stephen-Hen r y of Blois a nd Adela, daug hter of Wi l l ia m t he Conqueror Adela, who was i ncred ibly pol itica l ly astute, a l l ied w ith Hen r y I du r i ng h is m i l ita r y ca mpa ig n i n Nor ma ndy to quash thei r brother Rober t ’ s son Wi l l ia m Cl ito a nd h is rebel l ion Stephen, who had show n g reat prom ise as a swordsma n, accompa n ied h is u ncle i n the ensu i ng battles To rewa rd h is cou rage, Hen r y later gave Stephen a k n ig hthood a nd i nv ited h i m to the Eng l ish cou r t, where he rose th roug h the ra n ks at g reat pace, receiv i ng notable la nd a nd honou rs (estates) The k i ng a lso a r ra nged a g reat ma r r iage for Stephen w ith the i ncred ibly wea lthy Mati lda of Bou log ne, wh ich saw h i m i n her it yet more la nd i n Kent a nd Bou log ne,
ma k i ng the couple one of the wea lth iest i n the whole of Eng la nd
Before h is death, Hen r y I made h is nobles, i nclud i ng Stephen, swea r a n oath to ensu re that h is daug hter Matilda, the former Holy Roma n Empress, succeeded h i m It wasn’t just because Mati lda was a woma n that they were relucta nt to obser ve th is oath: the A nglo -Norma n el ite a lso resented the Empress’s second ma r r iage to A ngev i n r u ler Geof f rey, Cou nt of A njou, a long-sta nd i ng enemy whose la nds bordered the Duchy of Nor ma ndy
At the ti me of h is death, Hen r y was deep i n the Duchy attempti ng to thwa r t a n attack by rebels suppor ted by h is daug hter a nd her husba nd, who resented not hav i ng the la nd prematu rely Hen r y ’ s death put the empress i n a tr ick y situation as she was ef fectively now suppor ti ng rebels aga i nst her
ow n crow n, wh ich lef t her now schem i ng cousi ns – Stephen, who was i n Bou log ne, a nd h is older brother Theoba ld, i n souther n Blois – to ma ke a play for the th rone
Stephen, who was wel l l i ked a nd – perhaps more i mpor ta ntly – i ncred ibly wea lthy, was the f i rst to reach Eng la nd H is you nger brother Hen r y of Blois had become a powerf u l ecclesiastic i n Eng la nd tha n ks to h is u ncle, K i ng Hen r y I, who had blessed h i m w ith the r ichest abbey a nd bishopr ic Th is g if t had made h i m one of the wea lth iest men i n the cou ntr y Stephen, suppor ted by Hen r y, was therefore i n a pr i me position to pay ma ny powerf u l ba rons for thei r fea lty, get the chu rch a nd eventua l ly the Pope onside a nd sway publ ic suppor t to procla i m h i mself k i ng Mea nwh i le, across the Cha n nel, the Nor ma ns were busy decla r i ng Theoba ld k i ng , but when news ca me of Stephen’s coronation, suppor t for the older brother d issolved at the prospect of yet a nother d iv ided a nd wa r r i ng k i ngdom
succession of border i ng strong holds a nd ter r itor ies Geof f rey of A njou reig n ited h is ca mpa ig n to ta ke Nor ma ndy, a nd at home, ma ny ha rd- done -by ba rons bega n to play w ith the idea of defecti ng to the empress ’ s side The f i rst of these was Rober t, Ea rl of Gloucester, one of Hen r y I’s i l leg iti mate sons, attr ibuted w ith g iv i ng the civ i l wa r momentu m, so that when the empress la nded i n Eng la nd i n 1139 she had f ledg l i ng suppor t f rom a g row i ng nu mber of a l l ies Stephen su r rou nded her at A r u ndel but fool ish ly escor ted her to Br istol where she caug ht up w ith her a l ly Rober t From there, they ra l l ied suppor t a nd took control of wester n Eng la nd
AfterStephen was freed from Bristol Castle by his w ife and William of Ypres in 1141, he threw himself a second coronation to celebrate
The ea rly yea rs of Stephen’s reig n were a relative success; he created a new roya l cha r ter con f i r m i ng h is ea rl ier prom ises to chu rch, a nd reversed some of Hen r y s less popu la r pol icies He held good relations w ith the chu rch a nd h is ba rons, stabi l ised t he nor t her n border (thereby ha lti ng a n i nvasion by the Scottish K i ng Dav id I), conta i ned Geof f rey of A njou’s attacks on Nor ma ndy, a nd made peace w ith Fra nce th roug h Louis V I
Ha r mony was shor t-l ived, however, a nd i n 1136, cracks sta r ted to show Fi rst, Owa i n Gw y nedd of Wa les defeated the Eng l ish, rapid ly ta k i ng a
Stephen’s early life and family members
The next chess-l i ke move saw the empress decla red queen a f ter her forces captu red Stephen at the Battle of Li ncol n i n 1141, i mpr ison i ng h i m i n Br istol Castle He was released i n excha nge for Rober t of Gloucester, who was captu red by the k i ng ’ s w ife a nd forces at the Rout of Wi nchester The wa r d rag ged on w ith more sieges a nd rebel l ions i n both Eng la nd a nd Nor ma ndy, creati ng long per iods of sta lemate, a nd it wasn’t u nti l 1145 that the empress was defeated at the Battle of Fa r i ngdon aba ndon i ng her cause a nd f leei ng Eng la nd T wo yea rs later her son Hen r y ( later Hen r y II) took up the ca mpa ig n but a f ter r un n i ng out of money had to retu r n home, pa id for by K i ng Stephen Fa r f rom g iv i ng up, he retu r ned to Eng la nd i n 1149 a nd subsequently 1153, capita l isi ng on new suppor t i n nor th a nd east Eng la nd A tr uce was ca l led du r i ng a bout of bad weather, a nd Hen r y lev ied suppor t i n the M id la nds a nd Southwest The two r iva ls later met on opposite sides of the r iver Tha mes at Wa l l i ng ford but avoided engag i ng i n open battle
The sudden death of Stephen’s son a nd i ntended hei r Eustace later i n t he yea r hastened negotiations Peace was restored when Stephen ag reed to the T reaty of Wi nchester, wh ich a l lowed h i m to rema i n as k i ng for the rest of h is l ife i n excha nge for ack nowledg i ng Hen r y as h is r ig htf u l hei r, renou nc i ng h is su r v iv i ng son Wi l l ia m ’ s c la i m Stephen had less tha n a yea r to f i na l ly enjoy bei ng k i ng He d ied i n Dover of a stomach compla i nt, du r i ng a tou r of Eng la nd where he had been resolv i ng con f l icts caused by the civ i l wa r
Stephen s father died when he was a young boy, and had earned the reputation of being a coward during the First Crusade, while his mother was considered a pious, strong, brave and intelligent woman A s well as one older sister Stephen had three older brothers: William who is thought to have been intellectually disabled, Odo who died in his adolescence and Theobald Five younger sisters plus brothers Philip and Henr y followed Stephen Breaking with tradition, the close-knit family were raised in their mother’s household rather than being sent away to be mentored by relatives
Stephen was imprisoned in Bristol Castle in 1141
Life in the time of King Stephen
The White Ship disaster
In 1120, Stephen narrowly escaped death when he disembarked the doomed White Ship at the last minute, repor tedly due to concerns of overcrowding or illness on board Moments later the vessel hit rocks outside the harbour taking 300 people, including Henr y I s only legitimate son William, to a water y grave
Two queens
Af ter Stephen was imprisoned in Bristol Castle in 1141, England was ef fectively ruled by two queens: Empress Matilda with the chief suppor t of Rober t of Gloucester and, on the other side King Stephen’s wife Matilda Queen Consor t of England, and her advisor William of Ypres The two camps bargained relentlessly with nobles to streng then their suppor t
For money, not love
To help win his wars, Stephen paid an army of Flemish mercenaries to campaign on his behalf in Normandy Eventually, however, there was a great deal of inf ighting between the supposed allied forces of the Flemish and Normans, which caused the latter to defect, forcing him to sign a truce with Geof frey of Anjou
Temper, temper
In 1152 during a lull in combat, Stephen, perhaps devastated by his wife Matilda’s death reached a low point with the church Stephen decided to imprison Archbishop Theobald af ter he was refused permission by the Pope to crown his son Eustace early
So close, but so far
Despite f inally gaining the upper hand in 1141 when her forces captured Stephen Empress Matilda was never crowned Queen of England On the way to her planned coronation, she faced a surprise uprising of citizens forcing her to flee to Oxford
Henry and Stephen agree a truce across the Thames
HENRY PLANTAGENET
England, 1133-1189
Brief Bio
The grandson of Henr y I, Henr y II spent his entire 35-year reign hoping to rule his kingdom with the same political pragmatism as his namesake Ruthless and driven Henr y II was one of the most proactive monarchs in histor y He succeeded in re-establishing royal administration in England and Wales, gaining control over large provinces in France and making changes to the legislation that would later form the foundations of Common English Law
Henr y was the first monarch from the house Plantagenet. The family would rule the kingdom until the death of R ichard III in 1485
1154-1189
Fier y yet shrewd, the f irst of the Pla ntagenet k ings helped rebuild a tattered rea lm while def y ing rulers, popes a nd even his ow n heirs
Bor n i n Le Ma ns, Fra nce, i n the spr i ng of 1133, Hen r y was the eldest ch i ld of Geof f rey the Fa i r Cou nt of A njou a nd Empress Mati lda daug hter of Hen r y I of Eng la nd Tha n ks to her ties to the Eng l ish crow n (as wel l as her for mer ma r r iage to the Holy Roma n Emperor, Hen r y V of Ger ma ny), Hen r y s mother was one of the most powerf u l women i n Eu rope However, when the Eng l ish k i ng ’ s eldest son a nd hei r,
Wi l l ia m Adel i n, d ied at sea i n 1120, it t h rew t he l i ne of succession i nto tu r moi l In the con f usion, Mati lda’s cousi n, Stephen of Blois, i nsta l led h i mself as the sovereig n, wh ich succeeded i n plu ng i ng the cou ntr y i nto a civ i l wa r
W h i le the con f l ict raged i n Eng la nd, the you ng Hen r y was fast ta k i ng to the l ife of a French noblema n Toug h a nd resi l ient yet i ntel l igent a nd prag matic Hen r y had a l ready ga i ned a v ita l u ndersta nd i ng of bu i ld i ng pol itica l relationsh ips –he was a l ready on good ter ms w ith the nor ma l ly pr ick ly bishops of Nor ma ndy a nd u nderstood the i mpor ta nce of pay i ng homage to t hose i n h ig her positions of power (despite the fact that A njou had become a l most enti rely i ndependent of Fra nce)
W hen h is father passed away a few months later, Hen r y beca me the Cou nt of A njou, a position that was f u r ther bolstered by the la nds of Elea nor of Aqu ita i ne, whom he ma r r ied on 18 May 1152
“By t he t i me of h is deat h i n 1189, Hen r y had la id t he g rou ndwork for a new a ge of law ”
Elea nor had been the w ife of K i ng Lou is, but she had fa i led to prov ide a ny sons, so the zea lous French mona rch had had the ma r r iage a n nu l led Hen r y a nd Elea nor u n if ied the houses of Aqu ita i ne a nd Pla ntagenet eig ht weeks later, a move that sent her ex-husba nd i nto f its of rage
In reta l iation, Lou is orga n ised a n a l l ia nce between Stephen, Eustace, the Cou nts of Cha mpag ne a nd Perche ( both of whom saw the potentia l benef its of spl itti ng Hen r y ’ s la nds between them), as wel l as Hen r y ’ s ow n you ng brother, Geof f rey (who bel ieved that h is older sibl i ng had cheated h i m out of r ig htf u l la nds a nd titles) The borders of Norma ndy were sudden ly at wa r as Hen r y moved to defend h is la nds The con f l ict cou ld have been i ncred ibly bloody, but Lou is V II later w ithd rew f rom i l l ness a nd t he ca mpa ig n fel l to pieces soon a f ter
Back i n Eng la nd, K i ng Stephen had been f ig hti ng h is ow n civ i l wa r for yea rs, a con f l ict that on ly ser ved to d i m i n ish h is position as mona rch He was keen to br i ng the con f l ict to a close, but wou ld defend h is ow n cla i m to the crow n to the bitter end Upon la nd i ng on Eng l ish soi l i n 1153 i ntent on ta k i ng the crow n for h i mself, Hen r y w isely chose to for m a n a l l ia nce w ith Rober t de Beau mont, Ea rl of Leicester With Leicester’s considerable nor ther n suppor t – a nd the ti mely death of Stephen’s son, Eustace –the two wou ld eventua l ly broker a tr uce that saw Stephen recog n ise Hen r y as h is hei r Hen r y was crow ned Hen r y II of Eng la nd on 19 December 1154 With Queen Elea nor at h is side, Hen r y set about repa i r i ng the da mage of Stephen s si x-yea r reig n a nd the civ i l con f l ict that had cha racter ised it He was a lso d r iven by a f u r ious desi re to retu r n h is a ncestra l homela nd to the g lor y days of h is g ra nd father, so he bega n rec la i m i ng la nds a nd castles lost du r i ng h is predecessor’s reig n, destroy i ng those erected by h is enem ies, a nd reform ing the politica l streng th of the k i ngdom In the tu r moi l of the civ i l wa r, the Scottish k i ng , Ma lcol m, a nd a nu mber of the P r i nces i n Wa les had
Much like f uture monarch Henr y VIII, Henr y II was a redhead w ith a hellish temper to match
ta ken la nds outside thei r borders With Hen r y now rea f f i r m i ng h is la nds i n Eng la nd a nd Nor ma ndy, those ter r itor ies were soon retu r ned W h i le Hen r y had enjoyed successes rea f f i r m i ng h is k i ngdom elsewhere he faced a fa r more d if f icu lt cha l lenge br i ng i ng the clerg y to heel With the death of the A rchbishop of Ca nterbu r y, Hen r y appoi nted h is ch i ld hood f r iend Thomas Becket i n the role, i ntend i ng to use th is a l ly as a prox y i n h is relationsh ip w ith the chu rch However, Becket had no i ntention of bei ng Hen r y ’ s wh ippi ng boy a nd ref used to cha nge ecclesiastica l law to meet the k i ng ’ s w i l l Hen r y d id not react wel l In 1163, Hen r y had cha rges of roya l contempt d raw n up aga i nst h i m a nd Becket f led the cou ntr y W hen he retu r ned i n 1170, he soug ht to ma ke peace w ith the f ier y k i ng but ended up bei ng mu rdered soon a f ter by fou r k n ig hts who w ished to cu r r y favou r w ith Hen r y
Despite such over whel m i ng odds aga i nst h i m, Hen r y s powerbase was stronger tha n ever The French k i ng had been cowed a nd Eng la nd was once a ga i n a n i mposi ng m i l ita r y a nd pol itica l beast But for h is v ictor ies i n rebu i ld i ng h is k i ngdom, Hen r y ’ s ref usa l to recog n ise h is ow n ch i ld ren w ith titles of wor th wou ld f i na l ly be h is u ndoi ng H is cold relationsh ip w ith son R icha rd saw the d isg r u ntled hei r for m a n a l l ia nce w ith Ph i l ip Aug ustus, the new French k i ng With a new powerf u l a l ly at h is side R icha rd bega n cla i m i ng Hen r y ’ s conti nenta l la nds as h is ow n Hen r y attempted to for m a treaty w ith h is d isen f ra nch ised ch i ld, but the shock of h is betraya l wou ld prove too much for the ag i ng mona rch
By h is death on 6 Ju ly 1189, Hen r y had la id the g rou ndwork for a new age of law a nd the jud icia l process by hav i ng a n a r my of sher if fs en force the k i ng ’ s laws across the la nd Leg islation was d raw n up to prov ide g reater cla r if ication on ow nersh ip of proper ty a nd the pu n ish ment of civ i l cr i mes A nd wh i le h is son R icha rd wou ld eventua l ly r u i n ma ny of h is father’s ach ievements, Hen r y II rema i ns one of h istor y ’ s most prog ressive mona rchs
The Great Revolt
In 1153 King Henr y faced one of the greatest threats to his entire reign: the Great Revolt of 1173-1174 It was masterminded by some of his own sons, his wife and a group of rebellious barons as well as having the full suppor t of Scotland Flanders and France It saw invading forces clashing with Henr y s army, but it would be an act of public humility that would f inally dismantle the uprising On the grave of Thomas Becket, his once trusted ally, Henr y proclaimed the revolt to be divine penance for his past actions The forces attempting to invade both England and Normandy remarkably fell apar t soon af ter and the kingdom was safe once more
Henry II
Life in the time of Henry II
Money, money, money
Once Henr y had ascended to the throne in 1154, he was determined to improve the dire state of England’s f inances Decades prior, his grandfather, Henr y I, had helped invigorate the kingdom with a fresh influx of trade and commerce While Henr y II s ef for ts weren t quite as successful, he did make a positive impact on England’s f inancial welfare
Church and crown
Under the rule of his predecessor Stephen of Blois, relationships between the crown and the papac y were at an all time low In his early years as a duchy in France Henr y enjoyed a relatively peaceful relationship with the bishops However, his appointment of friend Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbur y would backf ire causing an even greater divide
The effects of war
When Henr y took the throne in 1154, England had suf fered greatly from the civil war between its usurping leader Stephen of Blois and the suppor ters of his rival Empress Matilda (Henr y s mother) Known as The Anarchy, it had nearly bankrupted the economy and devastated much of the land
Public opinion
Despite the reforms he ultimately made to legislation and the positive position he lef t England in on his death in 1189, Henr y II proved to be a relatively unpopular king This was less of a reflection on him as an individual monarch, but of the civil unrest the countr y had endured following the death of his grandfather Henr y I
Law of the land
Under Henr y II’s reign the legal system saw something of a renaissance Henr y was keen to resolve the disputes that remained from The Anarchy and pushed through legislation that gave more power to local cour ts He cracked down on crime and civil unrest, which led to the creation of General Eyre, a group of justices who travelled each par t of the countr y to resolve cases
Following clashes with his son Richard, Henry eventually collapsed from fever and was buried in Fontevraud Abbey in France
British Royals
1189-1199
Born to roya lty but educated in the cha rnel gutter of wa r, R icha rd embodied the religious fa naticism of the time in his quest to cla im the fabled Holy La nd
For a l most a yea r the m ig hty city of Acre held f i r m Despite wave a f ter wave of Ch r istia n k n ig hts pou r i ng a l l thei r rel ig ious fer vou r a nd m i l ita r y m ig ht i nto its a ncient wa l ls, it had held back the tide a nd somehow ha lted the prog ress of the foreig n hordes that now th reatened to over r u n the enti re Nea r East
More a nd more men ca me; the attacks were relentless W hen the f i rst a r my had been held at bay, the city’s i n habita nts thoug ht they were sa fe, that the i nvasion was defeated However, then yet a nother a r my la nded a nd the city’s ma i n a r ter y, its por t, was ta ken The city’s defences were tested once more, w ith a n even more ferocious attack batter ing at t he doors a nd ca l l i ng for blood Luck i ly for those w ith i n once more the city held of f the mass of wa r r iors its i n f idel leaders repel led
Despite being King of England, it’s thought that R ichard didn’t speak English, and only spent six months in his nation
T hen, w it h t he new yea r ’ s sa i l i ng season, a nother i nvader a r r ived by sea w ith a f resh bloodth i rsty a r my He was fol lowed i n May by yet a nother, w ith tens of thousa nds of sold iers joi n i ng the i n f idels’ ca mp outside the wa lls, swelling thei r nu mbers They attacked aga i n a nd the losses on both sides were massive The lack of food a nd suppl ies i n the city, a nd the spread of d isease w it h i n t he i nvaders’ ca mp d rove both sets of wa r r iors to extremes, stok i ng the f i res of fa ith that lay w ith in thei r hea r ts to pu rsue bolder acts of v iolence
Today is the eig hth day of Ju ne 1191 a nd as Acre slowly suf focates i n the oppressive heat of the Leva nt s su m mer months, yet a nother f leet is la nd i ng i n the city’s once -prosperous por t, th is ti me w ith one of the big gest forces the city has ever seen If the r u ler of Acre, the g reat Sa lad i n, doesn’t send mea n i ngf u l rei n forcements soon, the city w i l l fa l l a nd the gates to the Holy La nd w i l l be w renched open
They ca l l th is one, th is ma n-mou nta i n steppi ng of f h is sh ip onto the dusty d r y shore, the Lion hea r t, a nd he is here to k i l l them a l l i n the na me of h is god a nd g lor y The passage had been long a nd pa i n f u l, featu r i ng stor ms, sh ipw recks a nd a mad despot who th reatened to dera i l the Th i rd Cr usade before it had even beg u n No matter K i ng R icha rd the Lion hea r t a nd h is a r my had su r v ived the tr ip across the Med iter ra nea n Sea a nd reached the Holy La nd A f ter months of pu rsu it a nd pla n n i ng , they were pr imed to f u lf il thei r m ission, R icha rd’s m ission, God’s m ission, to ta ke the Holy La nd a nd cut a path to the hol iest of a l l cities, Jer usa lem
To the d isg race of a l l of Ch r istendom, Jesus’s city had fa l len fou r yea rs prev ious to the Sa racen Ay y ubid hordes, wh ich was now not on ly r u led by Ch r istia n ity’s a rchnemesis Sa lad i n but a lso def i led by thei r ver y presence w ith i n its ha l lowed wa l ls The city, wh ich had been sa fely held i n Ch r istia n ha nds for a l most 100 yea rs si nce the Fi rst Cr usade had establ ished the K i ngdom of Jer usa lem i n 1099, had been ordered to be reta ken by none other tha n the Pope i n Rome R icha rd, a devout a nd deeply rel ig ious k i ng , had heeded the ca l l Here he now stood, ready to do h is duty to the one tr ue god Conquer i ng Acre was merely the f i rst step i n w restl i ng Jer usa lem f rom Sa lad i n ’ s g r ip
After a particularly fantastic feast, R ichard impulsively knighted his cook
So fa r the city’s captu re a nd w ider cr usade had been i n the ha nds of a nu mber of other leaders These i ncluded Guy of Lusig na n – a proud Poitev i n k n ig ht a nd the supposed r ig htf u l k i ng of Jer usa lem th roug h h is ma r r iage to Sibyl la of Jer usa lem –a nd K i ng Ph i l ip II of Fra nce, who had helped ra ise the ‘Sa lad i n tithe’ to pay for the cr usade The Du ke of Austr ia, Leopold V, had overa l l com ma nd of the i mper ia l forces There had been yet more leaders at the siege’s i nstigation
Crusaders
NUMBER OF TROOPS:
LE ADER
R I C H A R D T H E L I O N H E A R T
Excellent on the battlef ield, Richard the Lionhear t was a brutal killer and a gif ted tactical thinker leading an army of religious fanatics with ruthless ef f icienc y
Strength Amazing warrior and power ful militar y leader
Weakness Politically and economically reckless as king
K E Y UNI T
T E M P L A R K N I G H T
The most skilled Christian f ighting unit to take par t in the Third Crusade, the Knights Templar were wealthy well-trained and fanatical f ighters, driven by a holy purpose
Strength Wellequipped and trained in hand-tohand combat
Weakness Few in number and fanatically religious leading to recklessness
K E Y W E A PON
B R O A D S W O R D
The most popular hand-to-hand weapon of all Christian knight orders including the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller, the broadsword was a wellbalanced and deadly weapon capable of stabbing and cleaving
Strength Great all-round weapon that also allowed shield use
Weakness Could be out-ranged with two-handed swords and spears
Battle of Arsuf
7 September 1191
A major battle i n the Th i rd Crusade, A rsu f saw R icha rd a nd Sa ladi n face of f
01 The Wood of Arsuf
A f ter ta k ing Acre, R icha rd set out for h is next ta rget, A rsuf To get there, he had to move south a long the coast of the Med iter ra nea n Sea a nd then traverse the Wood of A rsuf, one of the few forested reg ions in a ll of the Leva nt Sa ladin k new th is a nd a f ter track ing a nd ha rassing
R icha rd’s slow-mov ing baggage tra in a nd infa ntr y, decided the woods would be the idea l position to str ike
02 A narrow plain
R icha rd, wa r y of a n assault on h is convoy, proceeded slowly th rough the Wood of A rsuf ma k ing the f irst 10k m (6m i) w ithout incident
Sa ladin had a lready identif ied a str ik ing point however – a na r row clea r pla in in the forest approx imately 9k m (5 5m i) f rom A rsuf
Sa ladin intended to engage in sk irmishes a long the leng th of the convoy a nd then h it its rea r w ith a decisive attack
04 Saladin attacks
03 Scouts at dawn
Mov ing out of their ca mp at daw n on 7 September 1191, R icha rd s scouts repor ted
Sa lad in’s scouts could be seen R icha rd rea lised that th is mea nt Sa lad in’s f ul l a r my was nea rby a nd sta r ted to a r ra nge h is a r my
Men were deployed at the fore a nd rea r of the convoy colum n, w ith the va n – the foremost d iv ision – made up of the K n ights Templa r under the com ma nd of their 11th g ra nd master, Rober t de Sable
A s soon as R icha rd’s convoy reached the pla in Sa lad in’s forces attacked At the f ront, Sa lad in sent a dense swa r m of sk ir m ishers, wh ile beh ind them strea med squad rons of heav y cava lr y a nd foot a nd horse a rchers, splitting so that the a r my attacked f rom the centre lef t a nd r ight
t he su m mer prev ious but i l l ness a nd d isease had cla i med ma ny over the w i nter months, w ith Freder ick of Swabia a nd even the holy Patr ia rch Heracl ius of Jer usa lem a l l passi ng f rom th is mor ta l world i nto the next
The siege itself had sta l led, so ever y passi ng week th reatened to a l low Sa lad i n to outma noeuv re the cr usaders R icha rd, bei ng the honed a nd exper ienced m i l ita r y leader that he was, rea l ised th is a nd gave orders for vast siege eng i nes to be bu i lt, ones that cou ld br i ng dow n the city’s wa l ls These eng i nes, once completed, towered over the Ch r istia n k n ig hts
05 Crusader flanks hold
Sa lad in’s ch ief tactic was to brea k the f la n ks of the cr usader column and ordered incursions of javelin th rowers a nd mounted a rchers to perfor m lightn ing str ikes a long their f la n ks a nd retreating before cr usader crossbow men could reta liate The f la n ks held though
a nd, when u n leashed, broug ht the siege i nto a dead ly endga me
Colossa l bou lders ra i ned dow n upon Acre’s wa l ls smash i ng aga i nst them w ith thunderous br uta l ity Corpses of a n i ma ls a nd Musl i m sold iers l ittered the city’s streets, spread i ng d isease a nd sappi ng the mora le of the ter r if ied residents Most fea rsome of a l l thoug h, f la m i ng ba l ls a nd a r rows set ablaze a ny th i ng that wasn’t made out of stone, causi ng pa n ic to qu ick ly spread a mong Acre’s populace The sur v iv i ng Musl i m sold iers defended bravely, but the sheer ca r nage a nd chaos the mach i nes a nd men of wa r
10 Ayyubid army scatters
Its r ight w ing smashed the Ay y ubid a r my soon routed scatter ing back into the h ills a nd forests south of A rsuf R icha rd, rea lising the pursuing k n ights could be a mbushed in a sur pr ise counterattack, d rew the wa r r iors back into a n orderly for mation at A rsuf a nd ordered them to pitch ca mp at the now-secure for tress Sa lad in was forced to retreat w ith h is reputation as a n inv incible leader ta r n ished
09 Templars let loose
Freed f rom the tactica l order to defend a nd ma inta in discipline, the cr usader k n ights took the f ight to the Sa racens un leash ing their hatred a nd combat prowess in one br uta l wave of death The r ight w ing of Sa lad in’s a r my could n’t susta in the assault a nd collapsed a lmost im med iately, w ith R icha rd h imself weigh ing into the hea r t of the f ighting A s a bloody revenge for the day s attacks was complete the K n ights Templa r set of f in pursuit of the f leeing Sa racens
08 Counterattack slams home
Ga r n ier de Nablus d isobeyed orders in counterattack ing, but w ith the Hospita ller cha rg ing, R icha rd k new they needed suppor t a nd ordered h is a r my to engage w ith them The f ull weight of the cr usader a r my therefore sudden ly sw itched emphasis f rom defence to attack ra m m ing into the Ay y ubid a r my w ith im mense ferocity
Muslims NUMBER OF TROOPS:
LE ADER
S A L A D I N
He attained his exalted position as leader of the Ay yubid army and founder of the Ay yubid dynasty and was a wise and experienced militar y commander
Strength Respected tactical thinker and power ful politician
Weakness Hands-of f leader with little personal combat prowess
06 Hospitallers come under attack
Saladin shifted the focus point of his army to the rear of column, engaging the Knights Hospitaller. Saladin joined the assault along w ith his brother to inspire his men to make a breakthrough Richard held the convoy together despite some losses and edged them toward Arsuf
now lev ied on the city was too much a nd, a f ter a month of death a nd destr uction, the rema i n i ng Musl i m ga r r ison w ith i n the city su r rendered, wh ich was a d i rect v iolation of Sa lad i n ’ s orders
On receiv i ng the news of Acre’s fa l l Sa lad i n i m med iately set out for the city On h is way he received news that R icha rd had ta ken the su r render i ng Musl i m ga r r ison of 2,400 men captive a nd was of fer i ng thei r retu r n for a ra nsom Sa lad i n, k now n for h is loya lty to h is men a nd h is w isdom, ag reed to the ra nsom, wh ich not on ly i ncluded moneta r y compensation but a lso the release of a l l of h is Ch r istia n pr isoners
In Acre the ba n ners of the K i ngdom of Jer usa lem, Fra nce, Engla nd a nd the Duchy of
07 Knights break rank
Richard reached Arsuf in the middle of the afternoon, with the besieged Hospitaller vanguard retreating into the fortress city Line discipline was finally lost and a melee began Seeing his men in trouble, the grand master of the Knights Hospitaller, Garnier de Nablus, broke ranks and charged the Saracens
Austr ia f luttered i n the l ight breeze With Acre dow n, R icha rd k new that on ly the city of Ja f fa to the south stood i n thei r way of ma k i ng a d i rect assault on Jer usa lem so he bega n ma k i ng prepa rations for the conti nued cr usade as wel l as for the repa ration of the sacked city These prepa rations were sw if tly i nter r upted by a n a rg u ment that developed between the conquer i ng leaders as to how the city shou ld be d iv ided up a nd to how the spoi ls of thei r v ictor y shou ld be appor t ioned T h is qua r rel l i ng led R ic ha rd to str i ke dow n the Austr ia n sta nda rd f rom above the city’s wa l ls, sl ighti ng Leopold, as the k i ng of Engla nd sided w ith Guy of Lusigna n rather tha n Ph ilip a nd Leopold over who shou ld become k i ng of
The light cavalr y of Saladin was feared throughout the world due to its acute ability to strike quickly and at range, with skilled marksmen riding the world’s fastest horses
Strength Fast units that excelled in ambush and hit-and-run attacks
Weakness Easily cut down by knights in hand-to-hand combat
K E Y W E A
PON
S H O R T B O W
Saladin s mamluk infantr y and his light cavalr y units excelled in bowmanship with their shor t bows used to swarm arrows on crusader forces at ever y oppor tunity
Strengths Fast to f ire and reload with good stopping power
Weakness Could be outranged by the longbow and all-but-useless in hand-tohand combat
British Royals
Lionheart’s crusade
The Third Cr usade faced challenges even before reaching the Holy Land
Vezelay
Genoa
Marseilles
01 A papal decree
Rome – 29 October 1187
Pope Gregory VIII decrees the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem is punishment for Christian sins before issuing a papal bull calling for the Third Crusade France and England heed the call, imposing the Saladin tithe to fund the mission
02 The mad despot
Cyprus – 8 May 1189
On his way to the Holy Land
Richard’s f leet is hit by a storm and runs aground on Cyprus
The island s despot ruler seizes the ships, cargo and occupants
Richard takes Cyprus by force, freeing the enslaved subjects
Jer usa lem when the city was ta ken Ph i l ip a nd Leopold prefer red fel low cr usader a nd Ita l ia n noblema n Con rad of Montfer rat, w it h Ph i l l ip so a ng r y he th reatened to retu r n to Eu rope Th is cau ld ron of schem i ng a nd d isag reement was tipped over the edge when Sa lad i n delayed i n pay i ng the ga r r ison’s ra nsom A n a l ready i rate a nd d isg r u ntled R icha rd deemed the lateness a massive sl ig ht a nd ordered ever y si ng le one of the ga r r ison to be executed Sa lad i n reached the city just as the decision was made, but cou ld on ly watch as ma n a f ter ma n was publ icly executed, thei r heads lopped f rom thei r shou lders atop the city wa l ls Thousa nds d ied The en raged
Sa lad i n repl ied l i ke -for-l i ke executi ng the 1 000 Ch r istia n pr isoners i n h is custody
W hatever dea l cou ld conceivably have been reached between the r iva l leaders now lay i n bitter r u i ns, seem i ng ly as i r revocably dead as the unfortunate pr isoners
04 Battle of Arsuf Arsuf – 7 September 1191
Richard and the crusaders move out to capture Jaffa However, Saladin intercepts Richard near the fortress city of Arsuf, pursuing him right up to the city but Richard wins the engagement
Rome
05 Richard bows out Jaffa – 8 August 1192
After taking Jaffa and then launching two failed advances on Jerusalem, the crusaders split in two, leaving neither capable of taking the city Richard finds Jaffa back in Saladin’s hand but reclaims it in battle.
03 Acre under siege
Acre – 28 August 1189
The prolonged siege of the Muslim-held city and port of Acre sees thousands of crusaders and Saracen soldiers killed Following the Lionheart’s arrival at the siege on 8 June 1191, the city’s prolonged defence falters
leav i ng i n late Aug ust for thei r Eu ropea n homes
For R icha rd thoug h such betraya l of fa ith was u n i ma g i nable a nd a f ter ca l l i ng on t he Ph i l ip to do r ig ht i n the eyes of god, ma naged to persuade h i m to leave beh i nd 10,000 French cr usaders a long w ith the necessa r y f u nds to pay for thei r upkeep
The Lion hea r t was now the centra l rema i n i ng com ma nder of over 20,000 cr usaders, k n ig hts a nd sold iers a l i ke a nd, bu r n i ng w ith g lor ious pu r pose, ordered the conti nuation of the cr usade, w ith the bu l k of the cr usad i ng a r my ma rch i ng out of Acre i n Aug ust ’ s f i na l days Th is was no doubt who was now lead i ng th is holy cr usade
The number of Muslim prisoners R ichard had executed in the city of Acre totalled around 2,700
A ngered a nd f r ustrated w ith R icha rd a nd Guy, Ph i l ip a nd Leopold f i na l ly decided that thei r pa r ticipation i n the Th i rd Cr usade was at a n end,
The next city on the cr usaders’ relentless ma rch to Jer usa lem was Ja f fa a n i mpor ta nt por t that prov ided passage i nto the souther n Med iter ra nea n Sea A s long as Ja f fa rema i ned u nta ken Sa lad i n had a natu ra l avenue to pour more of h is troops i nto the reg ion f rom h is i mpreg nable strong hold of Eg y pt, but if it fel l to the cr usaders Sa lad i n wou ld be forced to move men over la nd, a fa r less ef fective a nd more ti me - consu m i ng proposition
The city of Acre as it looks today
The city a lso lay a mere 65 k i lometres (40 m i les) f rom Jer usa lem, ma k i ng it the idea l coasta l base for cr usaders Before it cou ld be ta ken thoug h the cr usaders needed to get there i n one piece R icha rd k new Sa lad i n was somewhere i n the nea rby a rea a nd, awa re of h is enemy s sk i l l i n a r ra ng i ng a mbushes, ordered h is troops to ma rch dow n the Mediterra nea n coastline, w ith the baggage tra i n protected by bei ng nea rest to the coast Th is tactic prevented Sa lad i n f rom attack i ng on one f la n k, as R icha rd a lso got h is f leet to sa i l dow n the coast i n pa ra l lel w ith them, shutti ng of f the sea as a n avenue of possible attack
Jerusalem
Tripoli
Acre
However, to the nor th of Ja f fa lay the Wood of A rsuf, one of the on ly forested a reas i n a l l of the Leva nt The woods ra n pa ra l lel to the coastl i ne for over 20 k i lometres (12 m i les) a nd had to be traversed by R icha rd’s a r my if they were to reach Ja f fa A f ter ha rassi ng R icha rd’s troops w ith sma l l h it-a nd-r u n attacks w ith i n the woods, Sa lad i n sa nctioned a f u l l-sca le assau lt on the cr usaders wh ich led to the la rgest pitched battle of the Th i rd Cr usade Sa lad i n k new the battle wou ld be decisive, but cou ld n t possibly have foreseen how d isastrous for h i m it would be A s the Su n went dow n on 7 September 1191 the Sa racen a r my had been routed i n a decisive cou nterattack led by R icha rd’s K n ig hts Hospita l ler Sa lad i n retreated to reg roup what was lef t of h is battered a r my a nd l ick h is wou nds
The cr usaders made a beel i ne for Ja f fa, sw if tly besieg i ng a nd ta k i ng it Despite some d isag reement w ith the other cr usader leaders, R icha rd – w ith Jer usa lem a l most i n sig ht – decided to open negotiations w ith h is enemy Sa lad i n, who was bei ng questioned by some of h is subjects fol low i ng the defeat at A rsuf ag reed to the negotiations a nd sent h is brother, A l-Ad i l to Ja f fa to lead the ta l ks Despite headway bei ng made – at one ti me R icha rd s sister Joa n was bei ng ta l ked about as a potentia l br ide for A l-Ad i l w ith Jer usa lem as a wedd i ng g if t – the ta l ks ultimately broke dow n
Anatomy of a Templar knight
The key k it a nd weapons ca rried by the most el ite of Ch
Helmet
Decapitation resistance
The great helm was the mainstay of the Templar Order and offered excellent protection against blows, as did the sugarloaf helmet Due to narrow viewing corridors and high temperatures experienced in the Holy Land many opted for more lightweight alternatives with open faces
A round 8,000 English knights and soldiers journeyed to the Holy Land for the Crusades
The brea kdow n of the ta l ks caused u n rest i n the cr usader ra n ks, w ith a rg u ments a r isi ng about the best way to proceed towa rd thei r goa l R icha rd, g row i ng ti red of the consta nt i n-f ig hti ng , acted decisively a nd ordered the a r my to move on Jer usa lem i n November, f i rst mov i ng th roug h A sca lon a nd then Latr u n The Ch r istia n a r my was soon at Beit Nuba a mere 20 k i lometres (12 m i les) f rom Jer usa lem The news qu ick ly spread of the cr usaders’ prog ress a nd the mora le i n the Musl i m ga r r isons w ith i n the city cr u mbled Sa lad i n s forces had been cr ushed, Acre, A rsuf a nd Ja f fa ta ken a nd Jer usa lem looked set to be next Victor y for the Th i rd Cr usade seemed i nev itable
At th is v ita l poi nt hesitation crept i nto the cr usader ra n ks, thoug h Sa lad i n had proven h i mself a wor thy a nd tr ick y foe a nd, not k now i ng the extent to wh ich h is forces had been depleted, R icha rd fea red that a reta l iation attack, most l i kely
“Sa lad i n cou ld on ly watch as ma n a f ter ma n was publ icly executed, t hei r heads lopped f rom t hei r shou lders atop t he cit y wa l ls’ ”
Broadsword
Designed to hack and slash
A s standard for western knights, the typical Knight Templar was armed with a broadsword however when f ighting on horseback spears were also used Sometimes, two-handed broadswords were opted for while f ighting on foot, but while they granted extra reach and cleaving power they lef t the knight shieldless
Chainmail
Thy enemy’s blade shall not pass
The primar y form of defence against enemy strikes, the hauberk, a longsleeved shir t of chainmail f itted with chain covers for the hands and a chain coif hood for the head, was a knight’s armour The chainmail would be par tnered with iron chausses to protect their legs
Jerkin
A guaranteed chafe -free experience
Unseen however of ten critical in keeping a Knight Templar breathing, was the haubergeon, a padded jerkin that sat against his skin The jerkin extended over much of the upper body and was the last line of defence from enemy blows In colder climates, it also helped keep the warrior warm – not an issue in the Holy Land
Surcoat
It ain’t half hot in the Holy Land
Above the knight’s chainmail sat the visible surcoat This white garment not only kept the Sun of f their metal armour, also displayed the symbols of the Order
Shield
The first and best line of defence
Adorned with the Christian cross of their order, the Templar shield was large and long with a teardrop design protecting their entire torso and upper legs It was constructed from wood and had a metal rim the latter helping to protect against it splitting under the weight of sword blows It had a leather handgrip at the rear
ristia n wa rriors
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“Oh we get along all right.... Martin’s picking up, New York seems to agree with him. He was so quiet and fat for a long while we were terribly afraid we’d produced an imbecile. Do you know Ruth I don’t think I’d ever have another baby.... I was so horribly afraid he’d turn out deformed or something.... It makes me sick to think of it.”
“Oh but it must be wonderful though.”
They rang a bell under a small brass placque that read: Hester Voorhees I D . They went up three flights of creaky freshvarnished stairs. At the door open into a room full of people they met Cassandra Wilkins in a Greek tunic with a wreath of satin rosebuds round her head and a gilt wooden panpipe in her hand.
“Oh you darlings,” she cried and threw her arms round them both at once. “Hester said you wouldnt come but I just knew you would.... Come wight in and take off your things, we’re beginning with a few classic wythms.” They followed her through a long candlelit incensesmelling room full of men and women in dangly costumes.
“But my dear you didn’t tell us it was going to be a costume party.”
“Oh yes cant you see evewything’s Gweek, absolutely Gweek.... Here’s Hester.... Here they are darling.... Hester you know Wuth ... and this is Elaine Oglethorpe.”
“I call myself Mrs. Herf now, Cassie.”
“Oh I beg your pardon, it’s so hard to keep twack.... They’re just in time.... Hester’s going to dance an owiental dance called Wythms from the Awabian Nights.... Oh it’s too beautiful.”
When Ellen came out of the bedroom where she had left her wraps a tall figure in Egyptian headdress with crooked rusty eyebrows accosted her. “Allow me to salute Helena Herf, distinguished editress of Manners, the journal that brings the Ritz to the humblest fireside ... isnt that true?”
“Jojo you’re a horrible tease.... I’m awfully glad to see you.”
“Let’s go and sit in a corner and talk, oh only woman I have ever loved...”
“Yes do let’s ... I dont like it here much.”
“And my dear, have you heard about Tony Hunter’s being straightened out by a psychoanalyst and now he’s all sublimated and has gone on the vaudeville stage with a woman named California Jones.”
“You’d better watch out Jojo.”
They sat down on a couch in a recess between the dormer windows. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a girl dancing in green silk veils. The phonograph was playing the Cesar Frank symphony.
“We mustnt miss Cassie’s daunce. The poor girl would be dreadfully offended.”
“Jojo tell me about yourself, how have you been?”
He shook his head and made a broad gesture with his draped arm. “Ah let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the deaths of kings.”
“Oh Jojo I’m sick of this sort of thing.... It’s all so silly and dowdy.... I wish I hadnt let them make me take my hat off.”
“That was so that I should look upon the forbidden forests of your hair.”
“Oh Jojo do be sensible.”
“How’s your husband, Elaine or rathah Helenah?”
“Oh he’s all right.”
“You dont sound terribly enthusiastic.”
“Martin’s fine though. He’s got black hair and brown eyes and his cheeks are getting to be pink. Really he’s awfully cute.”
“My deah, spare me this exhibition of maternal bliss.... You’ll be telling me next you walked in a baby parade.”
She laughed. “Jojo it’s lots of fun to see you again.”
“I havent finished my catechism yet deah.... I saw you in the oval diningroom the other day with a very distinguished looking man with sharp features and gray hair.”
“That must have been George Baldwin. Why you knew him in the old days.”
“Of course of course. How he has changed. A much more interesting looking man than he used to be I must say.... A very strange place for the wife of a bolshevik pacifist and I. W. W. agitator to be seen taking lunch, I must say.”
“Jimps isnt exactly that. I kind of wish he were....” She wrinkled up her nose. “I’m a little fed up too with all that sort of thing.”
“I suspected it my dear.” Cassie was flitting selfconsciously by.
“Oh do come and help me.... Jojo’s teasing me terribly.”
“Well I’ll twy to sit down just for a second, I’m going to dance next.... Mr. Oglethorpe’s going to wead his twanslation of the songs of Bilitis for me to dance to.”
Ellen looked from one to the other; Oglethorpe crooked his eyebrows and nodded.
Then Ellen sat alone for a long while looking at the dancing and the chittering crowded room through a dim haze of boredom.
The record on the phonograph was Turkish. Hester Voorhees, a skinny woman with a mop of hennaed hair cut short at the level of her ears, came out holding a pot of drawling incense out in front of her preceded by two young men who unrolled a carpet as she came. She wore silk bloomers and a clinking metal girdle and brassières. Everybody was clapping and saying, “How wonderful, how marvelous,” when from another room came three tearing shrieks of a woman. Everybody jumped to his feet. A stout man in a derby hat appeared in the doorway “All right little goils, right through into the back room. Men stay here.”
“Who are you anyway?”
“Never mind who I am, you do as I say.” The man’s face was red as a beet under the derby hat.
“It’s a detective.” “It’s outrageous. Let him show his badge.”
“It’s a holdup.”
“It’s a raid.”
The room had filled suddenly with detectives. They stood in front of the windows. A man in a checked cap with a face knobbed like a squash stood in front of the fireplace. They were pushing the women roughly into the back room. The men were herded in a little group near the door; detectives were taking their names. Ellen still sat on the couch. “... complaint phoned to headquarters,” she heard somebody say. Then she noticed that there was a phone on the little table beside the couch where she sat. She picked it up and whispered softly for a number
“Hello is this the district attorney’s office?... I want to speak to Mr. Baldwin please George.... It’s lucky I knew where you were. Is the district attorney there? That’s fine ... no you tell him about it. There has been a horrible mistake. I’m at Hester Voorhees’; you know she has a dancing studio. She was presenting some dances to some friends and through some mistake the police are raiding the place ...”
The man in the derby was standing over her. “All right phoning wont do no good.... Go ’long in the other room.”
“I’ve got the district attorney’s office on the wire. You speak to him.... Hello is this Mr. Winthrop?... Yes O ... How do you do? Will you please speak to this man?” She handed the telephone to the detective and walked out into the center of the room. My I wish I hadnt taken my hat off, she was thinking.
From the other room came a sound of sobbing and Hester Voorhees’ stagy voice shrieking, “It’s a horrible mistake.... I wont be insulted like this.”
The detective put down the telephone. He came over to Ellen. “I want to apologize miss.... We acted on insufficient information. I’ll withdraw my men immediately.”
“You’d better apologize to Mrs. Voorhees.... It’s her studio.”
“Well ladies and gents,” the detective began in a loud cheerful voice, “we’ve made a little mistake and we’re very sorry Accidents will happen ...”
Ellen slipped into the side room to get her hat and coat. She stood some time before the mirror powdering her nose. When she went out into the studio again everybody was talking at once. Men and women stood round with sheets and bathrobes draped over their scanty dancingclothes. The detectives had melted away as suddenly as they came. Oglethorpe was talking in loud impassioned tones in the middle of a group of young men.
“The scoundrels to attack women,” he was shouting, red in the face, waving his headdress in one hand. “Fortunately I was able to control myself or I might have committed an act that I should have regretted to my dying day.... It was only with the greatest selfcontrol...”
Ellen managed to slip out, ran down the stairs and out into drizzly streets. She hailed a taxi and went home. When she had got her things off she called up George Baldwin at his house. “Hello George, I’m terribly sorry I had to trouble you and Mr. Winthrop. Well if you hadnt happened to say at lunch you’d be there all the evening they probably would be just piling us out of the black maria at the Jefferson Market Court.... Of course it was funny I’ll tell you about it sometime, but I’m so sick of all that stuff.... Oh just everything like that æsthetic dancing and literature and radicalism and psychoanalysis.... Just an overdose I guess.... Yes I guess that’s it George.... I guess I’m growing up.”
The night was one great chunk of black grinding cold. The smell of the presses still in his nose, the chirrup of typewriters still in his ears, Jimmy Herf stood in City Hall Square with his hands in his pockets watching ragged men with caps and earsflaps pulled down over faces and necks the color of raw steak shovel snow. Old and
young their faces were the same color, their clothes were the same color. A razor wind cut his ears and made his forehead ache between the eyes.
“Hello Herf, think you’ll take the job?” said a milkfaced young man who came up to him breezily and pointed to the pile of snow. “Why not, Dan. I dont know why it wouldnt be better than spending all your life rooting into other people’s affairs until you’re nothing but a goddam traveling dictograph.”
“It’d be a fine job in summer all right.... Taking the West Side?”
“I’m going to walk up.... I’ve got the heebyjeebies tonight.”
“Jez man you’ll freeze to death.”
“I dont care if I do.... You get so you dont have any private life, you’re just an automatic writing machine.”
“Well I wish I could get rid of a little of my private life.... Well goodnight. I hope you find some private life Jimmy.”
Laughing, Jimmy Herf turned his back on the snow-shovelers and started walking up Broadway, leaning into the wind with his chin buried in his coatcollar. At Houston Street he looked at his watch. Five o’clock. Gosh he was late today. Wouldnt be a place in the world where he could get a drink. He whimpered to himself at the thought of the icy blocks he still had to walk before he could get to his room. Now and then he stopped to pat some life into his numb ears. At last he got back to his room, lit the gasstove and hung over it tingling. His room was a small square bleak room on the south side of Washington Square. Its only furnishings were a bed, a chair, a table piled with books, and the gasstove. When he had begun to be a little less cold he reached under the bed for a basketcovered bottle of rum. He put some water to heat in a tin cup on the gasstove and began drinking hot rum and water. Inside him all sorts of unnamed agonies were breaking loose. He felt like the man in the fairy story with an iron band round his heart. The iron band was breaking.
He had finished the rum. Occasionally the room would start going round him solemnly and methodically. Suddenly he said aloud: “I’ve got to talk to her ... I’ve got to talk to her.” He shoved his hat down on
his head and pulled on his coat. Outside the cold was balmy Six milkwagons in a row passed jingling.
On West Twelfth two black cats were chasing each other Everywhere was full of their crazy yowling. He felt that something would snap in his head, that he himself would scuttle off suddenly down the frozen street eerily caterwauling.
He stood shivering in the dark passage, ringing the bell marked Herf again and again. Then he knocked as loud as he could. Ellen came to the door in a green wrapper. “What’s the matter Jimps? Havent you got a key?” Her face was soft with sleep; there was a happy cozy suave smell of sleep about her. He talked through clenched teeth breathlessly.
“Ellie I’ve got to talk to you.”
“Are you lit, Jimps?”
“Well I know what I’m saying.”
“I’m terribly sleepy.”
He followed her into her bedroom. She kicked off her slippers and got back into bed, sat up looking at him with sleepweighted eyes.
“Dont talk too loud on account of Martin.”
“Ellie I dont know why it’s always so difficult for me to speak out about anything.... I always have to get drunk to speak out.... Look here do you like me any more?”
“You know I’m awfully fond of you and always shall be.”
“I mean love, you know what I mean, whatever it is ...” he broke in harshly.
“I guess I dont love anybody for long unless they’re dead.... I’m a terrible sort of person. It’s no use talking about it.”
“I knew it. You knew I knew it. O God things are pretty rotten for me Ellie.”
She sat with her knees hunched up and her hands clasped round them looking at him with wide eyes. “Are you really so crazy about
me Jimps?”
“Look here lets get a divorce and be done with it.”
“Dont be in such a hurry, Jimps.... And there’s Martin. What about him?”
“I can scrape up enough money for him occasionally, poor little kid.”
“I make more than you do, Jimps.... You shouldnt do that yet.”
“I know. I know. Dont I know it?”
They sat looking at each other without speaking. Their eyes burned from looking at each other. Suddenly Jimmy wanted terribly to be asleep, not to remember anything, to let his head sink into blackness, as into his mother’s lap when he was a kid.
“Well I’m going home.” He gave a little dry laugh. “We didn’t think it’d all go pop like this, did we?”
“Goodnight Jimps,” she whined in the middle of a yawn. “But things dont end.... If only I weren’ so terribly sleepy.... Will you put out the light?”
He groped his way in the dark to the door. Outside the arctic morning was growing gray with dawn. He hurried back to his room. He wanted to get into bed and be asleep before it was light.
A long low room with long tables down the middle piled with silk and crêpe fabrics, brown, salmonpink, emeraldgreen. A smell of snipped thread and dress materials. All down the tables bowed heads auburn, blond, black, brown of girls sewing. Errandboys pushing rolling stands of hung dresses up and down the aisles. A bell rings and the room breaks out with noise and talk shrill as a birdhouse.
Anna gets up and stretches out her arms. “My I’ve got a head,” she says to the girl next her
“Up last night?”
She nods.
“Ought to quit it dearie, it’ll spoil your looks. A girl cant burn the candle at both ends like a feller can.” The other girl is thin and blond and has a crooked nose. She puts her arm round Anna’s waist. “My I wish I could put on a little of your weight.”
“I wish you could,” says Anna. “Dont matter what I eat it turns to fat.”
“Still you aint too fat.... You’re juss plump so’s they like to squeeze ye. You try wearing boyishform like I told an you’ll look fine.”
“My boyfriend says he likes a girl to have shape.”
On the stairs they push their way through a group of girls listening to a little girl with red hair who talks fast, opening her mouth wide and rolling her eyes. “... She lived just on the next block at 2230 Cameron Avenue an she’d been to the Hippodrome with some girlfriends and when they got home it was late an they let her go home alone, up Cameron Avenue, see? An the next morning when her folks began looking for her they found her behind a Spearmint sign in a back lot.”
“Was she dead?”
“Sure she was.... A negro had done somethin terrible to her and then he’d strangled her I felt terrible. I used to go to school with her. An there aint a girl on Cameron Avenue been out after dark they’re so scared.”
“Sure I saw all about it in the paper last night. Imagine livin right on the next block.”
“Did you see me touch that hump back?” cried Rosie as he settled down beside her in the taxi. “In the lobby of the theater?” He pulled at the trousers that were tight over his knees. “That’s goin to give us
luck Jake. I never seen a hump back to fail.... if you touch him on the hump ... Ou it makes me sick how fast these taxis go.” They were thrown forward by the taxi’s sudden stop. “My God we almost ran over a boy.” Jake Silverman patted her knee. “Poor ikle kid, was it all worked up?” As they drove up to the hotel she shivered and buried her face in her coatcollar. When they went to the desk to get the key, the clerk said to Silverman, “There’s a gentleman waiting to see you sir.” A thickset man came up to him taking a cigar out of his mouth. “Will you step this way a minute please Mr. Silverman.” Rosie thought she was going to faint. She stood perfectly still, frozen, with her cheeks deep in the fur collar of her coat.
They sat in two deep armchairs and whispered with their heads together. Step by step, she got nearer, listening. “Warrant ... Department of Justice ... using the mails to defraud ...” She couldnt hear what Jake said in between. He kept nodding his head as if agreeing. Then suddenly he spoke out smoothly, smiling.
“Well I’ve heard your side Mr. Rogers.... Here’s mine. If you arrest me now I shall be ruined and a great many people who have put their money in this enterprise will be ruined.... In a week I can liquidate the whole concern with a profit.... Mr. Rogers I am a man who has been deeply wronged through foolishness in misplacing confidence in others.”
“I cant help that.... My duty is to execute the warrant.... I’m afraid I’ll have to search your room.... You see we have several little items ...” The man flicked the ash off his cigar and began to read in a monotonous voice. “Jacob Silverman, alias Edward Faversham, Simeon J. Arbuthnot, Jack Hinkley, J. J. Gold.... Oh we’ve got a pretty little list.... We’ve done some very pretty work on your case, if I do say it what shouldnt.”
They got to their feet. The man with the cigar jerked his head at a lean man in a cap who sat reading a paper on the opposite side of the lobby
Silverman walked over to the desk. “I’m called away on business,” he said to the clerk. “Will you please have my bill prepared? Mrs. Silverman will keep the room for a few days.”
Rosie couldnt speak. She followed the three men into the elevator. “Sorry to have to do this maam,” said the lean detective pulling at the visor of his cap. Silverman opened the room door for them and closed it carefully behind him. “Thank you for your consideration, gentlemen.... My wife thanks you.” Rosie sat in a straight chair in the corner of the room. She was biting her tongue hard, harder to try to keep her lips from twitching.
“We realize Mr. Silverman that this is not quite the ordinary criminal case.”
“Wont you have a drink gentlemen?”
They shook their heads. The thickset man was lighting a fresh cigar.
“Allright Mike,” he said to the lean man. “Go through the drawers and closet.”
“Is that regular?”
“If this was regular we’d have the handcuffs on you and be running the lady here as an accessory.”
Rosie sat with her icy hands clasped between her knees swaying her body from side to side. Her eyes were closed. While the detectives were rummaging in the closet, Silverman took the opportunity to put his hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes. “The minute the goddam dicks take me out phone Schatz and tell him everything. Get hold of him if you have to wake up everybody in New York.” He spoke low and fast, his lips barely moving.
Almost immediately he was gone, followed by the two detectives with a satchel full of letters. His kiss was still wet on her lips. She looked dazedly round the empty deathly quiet room. She noticed some writing on the lavender blotter on the desk. It was his handwriting, very scrawly: Hock everything and beat it; you are a good kid. Tears began running down her cheeks. She sat a long while with her head dropped on the desk kissing the penciled words on the blotter.
IV. Skyscraper
The young man without legs has stopped still in the middle of the south sidewalk of Fourteenth Street. He wears a blue knitted sweater and a blue stocking cap. His eyes staring up widen until they fill the paperwhite face. Drifts across the sky a dirigible, bright tinfoil cigar misted with height, gently prodding the rainwashed sky and the soft clouds. The young man without legs stops still propped on his arms in the middle of the south sidewalk of Fourteenth Street. Among striding legs, lean legs, waddling legs, legs in skirts and pants and knickerbockers, he stops perfectly still, propped on his arms, looking up at the dirigible.
J , Jimmy Herf came out of the Pulizter Building. He stood beside a pile of pink newspapers on the curb, taking deep breaths, looking up the glistening shaft of the Woolworth. It was a sunny day, the sky was a robin’s egg blue. He turned north and began to walk uptown. As he got away from it the Woolworth pulled out like a telescope. He walked north through the city of shiny windows, through the city of scrambled alphabets, through the city of gilt letter signs.
Spring rich in gluten.... Chockful of golden richness, delight in every bite, , spring rich in gluten. Nobody can buy better bread than . Wrought steel, monel, copper, nickel, wrought iron. All the world loves natural beauty. L ’ that suit at Gumpel’s best value in town. Keep that
schoolgirl complexion.... J , starting, lightning, ignition and generators.
Everything made him bubble with repressed giggles. It was eleven o’clock. He hadnt been to bed. Life was upside down, he was a fly walking on the ceiling of a topsy-turvy city. He’d thrown up his job, he had nothing to do today, tomorrow, next day, day after. Whatever goes up comes down, but not for weeks, months. Spring rich in gluten.
He went into a lunchroom, ordered bacon and eggs, toast and coffee, sat eating them happily, tasting thoroughly every mouthful. His thoughts ran wild like a pasture full of yearling colts crazy with sundown. At the next table a voice was expounding monotonously:
“Jilted ... and I tell you we had to do some cleaning. They were all members of your church you know. We knew the whole story. He was advised to put her away. He said, ‘No I’m going to see it through’.”
Herf got to his feet. He must be walking again. He went out with a taste of bacon in his teeth.
Express service meets the demands of spring. O God to meet the demands of spring. No tins, no sir, but there’s rich quality in every mellow pipeful.... S . One taste tells more than a million words. The yellow pencil with the red band. Than a million words, than a million words. “All right hand over that million.... Keep him covered Ben.” The Yonkers gang left him for dead on a bench in the park. They stuck him up, but all they got was a million words.... “But Jimps I’m so tired of booktalk and the proletariat, cant you understand?”
Chockful of golden richness, spring.
Dick Snow’s mother owned a shoebox factory. She failed and he came out of school and took to standing on streetcorners. The guy in the softdrink stand put him wise. He’d made two payments on pearl earings for a blackhaired Jewish girl with a shape like a mandolin. They waited for the bankmessenger in the L station. He pitched over the turnstile and hung there. They went off with the satchel in a Ford sedan. Dick Snow stayed behind emptying his gun into the dead
man. In the deathhouse he met the demands of spring by writing a poem to his mother that they published in the Evening Graphic.
With every deep breath Herf breathed in rumble and grind and painted phrases until he began to swell, felt himself stumbling big and vague, staggering like a pillar of smoke above the April streets, looking into the windows of machineshops, buttonfactories, tenementhouses, felt of the grime of bedlinen and the smooth whir of lathes, wrote cusswords on typewriters between the stenographer’s fingers, mixed up the pricetags in departmentstores. Inside he fizzled like sodawater into sweet April syrups, strawberry, sarsaparilla, chocolate, cherry, vanilla dripping foam through the mild gasolineblue air. He dropped sickeningly fortyfour stories, crashed. And suppose I bought a gun and killed Ellie, would I meet the demands of April sitting in the deathhouse writing a poem about my mother to be published in the Evening Graphic?
He shrank until he was of the smallness of dust, picking his way over crags and bowlders in the roaring gutter, climbing straws, skirting motoroil lakes.
He sat in Washington Square, pink with noon, looking up Fifth Avenue through the arch. The fever had seeped out of him. He felt cool and tired. Another spring, God how many springs ago, walking from the cemetery up the blue macadam road where fieldsparrows sang and the sign said: Yonkers. In Yonkers I buried my boyhood, in Marseilles with the wind in my face I dumped my calf years into the harbor. Where in New York shall I bury my twenties? Maybe they were deported and went out to sea on the Ellis Island ferry singing the International. The growl of the International over the water, fading sighing into the mist.
DEPORTED
James Herf young newspaper man of 190 West 12th Street recently lost his twenties. Appearing before Judge Merivale they were remanded to Ellis Island for deportation as undesirable aliens. The younger four Sasha Michael Nicholas and Vladimir had been held for some time on a charge of criminal anarchy. The fifth and sixth were held on a technical
charge of vagrancy The later ones Bill Tony and Joe were held under various indictments including wifebeating, arson, assault, and prostitution. All were convicted on counts of misfeasance, malfeasance, and nonfeasance.
Oyez oyez oyez prisoner at the bar.... I find the evidence dubious said the judge pouring himself out a snifter. The clerk of the court who was stirring an oldfashioned cocktail became overgrown with vineleaves and the courtroom reeked with the smell of flowering grapes and the Shining Bootlegger took the bulls by the horns and led them lowing gently down the courthouse steps. “Court is adjourned by hicky,” shouted the judge when he found gin in his waterbottle. The reporters discovered the mayor dressed in a leopard skin posing as Civic Virtue with his foot on the back of Princess Fifi the oriental dancer. Your correspondent was leaning out of the window of the Banker’s Club in the company of his uncle, Jefferson T. Merivale, wellknown clubman of this city and two lamb chops well peppered. Meanwhile the waiters were hastily organizing an orchestra, using the potbellies of the Gausenheimers for snaredrums. The head waiter gave a truly delightful rendition of My Old Kentucky Home, utilizing for the first time the resonant bald heads of the seven directors of the Well Watered Gasoline Company of Delaware as a xylophone. And all the while the Shining Bootlegger in purple running drawers and a blue-ribbon silk hat was leading the bulls up Broadway to the number of two million, threehundred and fortytwo thousand, five hundred and one. As they reached the Spuyten Duyvil, they were incontinently drowned, rank after rank, in an attempt to swim to Yonkers.
And as I sit here, thought Jimmy Herf, print itches like a rash inside me. I sit here pockmarked with print. He got to his feet. A little yellow dog was curled up asleep under the bench. The little yellow dog looked very happy. “What I need’s a good sleep,” Jimmy said aloud.
“What are you goin to do with it, Dutch, are you goin to hock it?”
“Francie I wouldnt take a million dollars for that little gun.”
“For Gawd’s sake dont start talkin about money, now.... Next thing some cop’ll see it on your hip and arrest you for the Sullivan law.”
“The cop who’s goin to arrest me’s not born yet.... Just you forget that stuff.”
Francie began to whimper. “But Dutch what are we goin to do, what are we goin to do?”
Dutch suddenly rammed the pistol into his pocket and jumped to his feet. He walked jerkily back and forth on the asphalt path. It was a foggy evening, raw; automobiles moving along the slushy road made an endless interweaving flicker of cobwebby light among the skeleton shrubberies.
“Jez you make me nervous with your whimperin an cryin.... Cant you shut up?” He sat down beside her sullenly again. “I thought I heard somebody movin in the bushes.... This goddam park’s full of plainclothes men.... There’s nowhere you can go in the whole crummy city without people watchin you.”
“I wouldnt mind it if I didnt feel so rotten. I cant eat anythin without throwin up an I’m so scared all the time the other girls’ll notice something.”
“But I’ve told you I had a way o fixin everythin, aint I? I promise you I’ll fix everythin fine in a couple of days.... We’ll go away an git married. We’ll go down South.... I bet there’s lots of jobs in other places.... I’m gettin cold, let’s get the hell outa here.”
“Oh Dutch,” said Francie in a tired voice as they walked down the muddyglistening asphalt path, “do you think we’re ever goin to have a good time again like we used to?”
“We’re S.O.L. now but that dont mean we’re always goin to be. I lived through those gas attacks in the Oregon forest didnt I? I been dopin out a lot of things these last few days.”
“Dutch if you go and get arrested there’ll be nothin left for me to do but jump in the river.”
“Didnt I tell you I wasnt goin to get arrested?”
Mrs. Cohen, a bent old woman with a face brown and blotched like a russet apple, stands beside the kitchen table with her gnarled hands folded over her belly. She sways from the hips as she scolds in an endless querulous stream of Yiddish at Anna sitting blearyeyed with sleep over a cup of coffee: “If you had been blasted in the cradle it would have been better, if you had been born dead.... Oy what for have I raised four children that they should all of them be no good, agitators and streetwalkers and bums...? Benny in jail twice, and Sol God knows where making trouble, and Sarah accursed given up to sin kicking up her legs at Minski’s, and now you, may you wither in your chair, picketing for the garment workers, walking along the street shameless with a sign on your back.”
Anna dipped a piece of bread in the coffee and put it in her mouth. “Aw mommer you dont understand,” she said with her mouth full.
“Understand, understand harlotry and sinfulness...? Oy why dont you attend to your work and keep your mouth shut, and draw your pay quietly? You used to make good money and could have got married decent before you took to running wild in dance halls with a goy. Oy oy that I’ve raised daughters in my old age no decent man’d want to take to his house and marry....”
Anna got to her feet shrieking “It’s no business of yours.... I’ve always paid my part of the rent regular You think a girl’s worth nothin but for a slave and to grind her fingers off workin all her life.... I think different, do you hear? Dont you dare scold at me....”
“Oy you will talk back to your old mother. If Solomon was alive he’d take a stick to you. Better to have been born dead than talk back to your mother like a goy. Get out of the house and quick before I blast you.”
“All right I will.” Anna ran through the narrow trunk-obstructed hallway to the bedroom and threw herself on her bed. Her cheeks were burning. She lay quiet trying to think. From the kitchen came the old woman’s fierce monotonous sobbing.
Anna raised herself to a sitting posture on the bed. She caught sight in the mirror opposite of a strained teardabbled face and rumpled stringy hair. “My Gawd I’m a sight,” she sighed. As she got to her feet her heel caught on the braid of her dress. The dress tore sharply. Anna sat on the edge of the bed and cried and cried. Then she sewed the rent in the dress up carefully with tiny meticulous stitches. Sewing made her feel calmer. She put on her hat, powdered her nose copiously, put a little rouge on her lips, got into her coat and went out. April was coaxing unexpected colors out of the East Side streets. Sweet voluptuous freshness came from a pushcart full of pineapples. At the corner she found Rose Segal and Lillian Diamond drinking coca-cola at the softdrink stand.
“Anna have a coke with us,” they chimed.
“I will if you’ll blow me.... I’m broke.”
“Vy, didnt you get your strike pay?”
“I gave it all to the old woman.... Dont do no good though. She goes on scoldin all day long. She’s too old.”
“Did you hear how gunmen broke in and busted up Ike Goldstein’s shop? Busted up everythin wid hammers an left him unconscious on top of a lot of dressgoods.”
“Oh that’s terrible.”
“Soive him right I say.”
“But they oughtnt to destroy property like that. We make our livin by it as much as he does.”
“A pretty fine livin.... I’m near dead wid it,” said Anna banging her empty glass down on the counter.
“Easy easy,” said the man in the stand. “Look out for the crockery.”
“But the worst thing was,” went on Rose Segal, “that while they was fightin up in Goldstein’s a rivet flew out the winder an fell nine stories an killed a fireman passin on a truck so’s he dropped dead in the street.”
“What for did they do that?”
“Some guy must have slung it at some other guy and it pitched out of the winder.”
“And killed a fireman.”
Anna saw Elmer coming towards them down the avenue, his thin face stuck forward, his hands hidden in the pockets of his frayed overcoat. She left the two girls and walked towards him. “Was you goin down to the house? Dont lets go, cause the old woman’s scoldin somethin terrible.... I wish I could get her into the Daughters of Israel. I cant stand her no more.”
“Then let’s walk over and sit in the square,” said Elmer. “Dont you feel the spring?”
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Dont I? Oh Elmer I wish this strike was over.... It gets me crazy doin nothin all day.”
“But Anna the strike is the worker’s great opportunity, the worker’s university. It gives you a chance to study and read and go to the Public Library.”
“But you always think it’ll be over in a day or two, an what’s the use anyway?”
“The more educated a feller is the more use he is to his class.”
They sat down on a bench with their backs to the playground. The sky overhead was glittering with motherofpearl flakes of sunset. Dirty children yelled and racketed about the asphalt paths.
“Oh,” said Anna looking up at the sky, “I’d like to have a Paris evening dress an you have a dress suit and go out to dinner at a swell restaurant an go to the theater an everything.”
“If we lived in a decent society we might be able to.... There’d be gayety for the workers then, after the revolution.”
“But Elmer what’s the use if we’re old and scoldin like the old woman?”
“Our children will have those things.”
Anna sat bolt upright on the seat. “I aint never goin to have any children,” she said between her teeth, “never, never, never.”
Alice touched his arm as they turned to look in the window of an Italian pastryshop. On each cake ornamented with bright analin flowers and flutings stood a sugar lamb for Easter and the resurrection banner. “Jimmy,” she said turning up to him her little oval face with her lips too red like the roses on the cakes, “you’ve got to do something about Roy.... He’s got to get to work. I’ll go crazy if I have him sitting round the house any more reading the papers wearing that dreadful adenoid expression.... You know what I mean.... He respects you.”
“But he’s trying to get a job.”
“He doesnt really try, you know it.”
“He thinks he does. I guess he’s got a funny idea about himself.... But I’m a fine person to talk about jobs ...”
“Oh I know, I think it’s wonderful. Everybody says you’ve given up newspaper work and are going to write.”
Jimmy found himself looking down into her widening brown eyes, that had a glimmer at the bottom like the glimmer of water in a well. He turned his head away; there was a catch in his throat; he coughed. They walked on along the lilting brightcolored street.
At the door of the restaurant they found Roy and Martin Schiff waiting for them. They went through an outer room into a long hall crowded with tables packed between two greenish bluish paintings of the Bay of Naples. The air was heavy with a smell of parmesan cheese and cigarettesmoke and tomato sauce. Alice made a little face as she settled herself in a chair.
“Ou I want a cocktail right away quick.”
“I must be kinder simpleminded,” said Herf, “but these boats coquetting in front of Vesuvius always make me feel like getting a move on somewhere.... I think I’ll be getting along out of here in a couple of weeks.”
