Thomas Becket and the Archbishop of York
The incident with William FitzEmpress and Thomas Becket happened the way I wrote it. The new Archbishop of Canterbury chose to deny William his happiness. He fled England for France when King Henry brought him to book for his refusal to confirm Henry’s choice of priests. I made up his collusion with France. However, I am not a fan of Becket. In my view he was self-serving and sought power. I have no evidence that he wished to be Pope but it suits my story.
Roger de Pont L’Évêque was probably born around 1115 and was a native of Pont-L’Évêque in Normandy. His only known relative was a nephew, Geoffrey, to whom Roger gave the offices of provost of Beverley Minster and archdeacon of York. Roger was a clerk of Archbishop Theobald's before being named Archdeacon of Canterbury, some time after March 1148. When Becket joined Theobald's household, their contemporary William fitzStephen recorded that Roger disliked the new clerk, and twice drove Thomas away before the archbishop's brother Walter arranged Thomas' return.
In June 1170, Roger de Pont L'Évêque, the archbishop of York, along with Gilbert Foliot, the Bishop of London, and Josceline de Bohon, the Bishop of Salisbury, crowned the heir apparent, Henry the Young King, at York. This was a breach of Canterbury's privilege of coronation, and in November 1170 Becket excommunicated all three. While the three clergymen fled to the king in Normandy. Becket continued to excommunicate his opponents in the church, the news of which also reached Henry II, Henry the Young King's father.
Upon hearing reports of Becket's actions, Henry is said to have uttered words that were interpreted by his men as wishing Becket killed. The king's exact words are in doubt and several versions have been reported. The most commonly quoted, as handed down by oral tradition, is "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" but according to historian Simon Schama this is incorrect: he accepts the account of the contemporary biographer Edward Grim, writing in Latin, who gives us "What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?" Many variations have found their way into popular culture.
Whatever Henry said, it was interpreted as a royal command, and four knights, Reginald FitzUrse, Hugh de Morville, William de Tracy and Richard le Breton, set out to confront the Archbishop of Canterbury.
On 29 December 1170 they arrived at Canterbury. According to accounts left by the monk Gervase of Canterbury and eyewitness Edward Grim, they placed their weapons under a tree outside the cathedral and hid their mail armour under cloaks before entering to challenge Becket. The knights informed Becket he was to go to Winchester to give an account of his actions, but Becket refused. It was not until Becket refused their demands to submit to the king's will that they retrieved their weapons and rushed back inside for the killing. Becket, meanwhile, proceeded to the main hall for vespers. The four knights, wielding drawn swords, caught up with him in a spot near a door to the monastic cloister, the stairs into the crypt, and the stairs leading up into the quire of the cathedral, where the monks were chanting vespers.
Several contemporary accounts of what happened next exist; of particular note is that of Edward Grim, who was wounded in the attack. This is part of the account from Edward Grim:
‘The wicked knight leapt suddenly upon him, cutting off the top of the crown which the unction of sacred chrism had dedicated to God. Next, he received a second blow on the head, but still he stood firm and immovable. At the third blow he fell on his knees and elbows, offering himself a living sacrifice, and saying in a low voice, "For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death." But the third knight inflicted a terrible wound as he lay prostrate. By this stroke, the crown of his head was separated from the head in such a way that the blood white with the brain, and the brain no less red from the blood, dyed the floor of the cathedral. The same clerk who had entered with the knights placed his foot on the neck of the holy priest and precious martyr, and, horrible to relate, scattered the brains and blood about the pavements, crying to the others, 'Let us away, knights; this fellow will arise no more.’
After Becket's death
Following Becket's death, the monks prepared his body for burial. According to some accounts, it was discovered that Becket had worn a hair shirt under his archbishop's garments—a sign of penance. Soon after, the faithful throughout Europe began venerating Becket as a martyr, and on 21 February 1173—little more than two years after his death—he was canonised by Pope Alexander III in St Peter's Church in Segni. In 1173, Becket's sister Mary was appointed Abbess of Barking as reparation for the murder of her brother. On 12 July 1174, in the midst of the Revolt of 1173–74, Henry humbled himself with public penance at Becket's tomb as well as at the church of St. Dunstan's, which became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in England.
Becket's assassins fled north to Knaresborough Castle, which was held by Hugh de Morville, where they remained for about a year. De Morville held property in Cumbria and this may also have provided a convenient bolt-hole, as the men prepared for a longer stay in the separate kingdom of Scotland. They were not arrested and neither did Henry confiscate their lands, but he failed to help them when they sought his advice in August 1171. Pope Alexander excommunicated all four. Seeking forgiveness, the assassins travelled to Rome and were ordered by the Pope to serve as knights in the Holy Lands for a period of fourteen years.
Bamburgh Castle
I have used this castle in many books from the Saxon ones onward. I had made up a story about a tunnel from the castle leading to the sea. Imagine my surprise when, on a visit in 2016 a guide told me that there was such a tunnel which was accessed through the well. The last person who had been down had gone there 30 years ago. Sadly, the entrance and exit have now been blocked for health and safety. It is a magnificent castle and although it has many later additions the site must have remained the same for millennia. It is well worth a visit and, to my mind, superior to the much more popular Alnwick Castle.
Bamburgh Castle (author’s collection)
Norham Castle
The Great Revolt
The Princes’ rebellion happened almost exactly the way it was written. Young King Henry fled to Louis’ court followed by his brothers. The Queen tried to flee but was captured and taken to Henry. King Henry gathered his loyal knights and they defeated first the Flemish then they destroyed Louis and his son’s army. Finally, they routed the Bretons. The Earl of Leicester then returned to England to begin a rebellion there while Henry was still in Normandy. King William of Scotland took advantage of the King’s absence to invade the north. The revolt was futile. King Henry emerged even stronger. By the Treaty of Falaise King William acknowledged that King Henry was his liege lord. The King and his sons agreed a peace. It was an uneasy one and it lasted just a short time.
The rebellion of 1173-74 and the planned attacks.
William of Scotland
William had inherited the title of Earl of Northumbria in 1152. However, he had to give up this title to King Henry II of England in 1157. He spent much of his reign trying to regain his lost territory. In 1173, whilst Henry II was occupied in fighting against his sons in the Revolt of 1173–1174, William saw his opportunity and invaded Northumbria. He advanced on Newcastle but found the partly built stone castle too strong to allow him to take the town. He also attacked Prudhoe Castle but found the defences too strong. Unwilling to undertake a lengthy siege, William returned to Scotland. In 1174, William again invaded Northumbria with an even larger army that included a contingent of Flemish mercenaries. The army was said to have numbered eighty thousand men, but this is almost certainly an exaggeration. This time he avoided Newcastle but attacked Prudhoe Castle again. The castle had been strengthened since the previous year and after a siege of three days William moved north to besiege Alnwick. William divided his army into three columns and one of these, under the command of Duncan, Earl of Fife, attacked Warkworth and set fire to the church of
St Lawrence with a large number of refugees inside.
The battle
William made the fatal error of allowing his army to spread out, instead of concentrating them around his base at Alnwick. On the night of 11 July, a party of about four hundred mounted knights, led by Ranulf de Glanvill, set out from Newcastle and headed towards Alnwick. This small fighting force contained several seasoned knights, who had fought against the Scots before. They reached Alnwick shortly after dawn after becoming lost in heavy fog. There they found William’s encampment, where the Scottish king was only protected by a bodyguard of perhaps sixty fighting men. At the sound of alarm, William rushed from his tent and hurriedly prepared to fight. The English force charged and the Scottish king and his bodyguard met the charge head on. The fighting did not last long. William’s horse was killed beneath him and he was captured. Those of his followers who had not been killed surrendered.
Aftermath
William was brought back to Newcastle as a captive. His army found itself leaderless and wandered back to Scotland. William was held at Newcastle for a time but it was not considered strong enough, and he was finally moved to Falaise in Normandy. Whilst he was there, Henry sent an army to occupy part of Scotland, with its five strongest castles: Roxburgh, Berwick, Jedburgh, Edinburgh and Stirling. To obtain his freedom, William was forced to sign the Treaty of Falaise, under which he swore an oath of allegiance to the English king and agreed to the garrisoning of the captured castles by English soldiers at Scottish expense. When William was released, after signing the treaty, he travelled back to Scotland via Newcastle, and was attacked by a mob; such was the antipathy of the local people towards Scottish invaders.
This is a novel and as such fiction. I have condensed the two attacks into one and poor Ranulf de Glanvill has been replaced by Earl William. Apologies to his descendants.
This is the penultimate book in the series. It ends in 1174 and the series ends in 1180. The story does continue with Thomas but that is in the Border Knight series. The last book is called Earl Marshal.
Books used in the research:
Chronicles of the age of chivalry- Elizabeth Hallam
The Varangian Guard- 988-1453 Raffael D’Amato
Saxon Viking and Norman- Terence Wise
The Walls of Constantinople AD 324-1453-Stephen Turnbull
Byzantine Armies- 886-1118- Ian Heath
The Age of Charlemagne-David Nicolle
The Normans- David Nicolle
Norman Knight AD 950-1204- Christopher Gravett
The Norman Conquest of the North- William A Kappelle
The Knight in History- Francis Gies
The Norman Achievement- Richard F Cassady
Knights- Constance Brittain Bouchard
Knight Templar 1120-1312 -Helen Nicholson
Feudal England: Historical Studies on the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries- J. H. Round
Armies of the Crusades- Helen Nicholson
Knight of Outremer 1187- 1344 - David Nicholle
Crusader Castles in the Holy Land- David Nicholle
The Crusades- David Nicholle
Bamburgh Castle Heritage group
Warkworth Castle- English Heritage Guide
The Times Atlas of World History
Old Series Ordnance Survey Maps #93 Middlesbrough
Old Series Ordnance Survey Maps #81 Alnwick and Morpeth
Old Series Ordnance Survey Maps #92 Barnard Castle
For those who like authentic maps the last two maps are part of a series now available. They are the first Government produced maps of the British Isles. Great Britain, apart from the larger conurbations, was the same as it had been 800 years earlier.
I also discovered a good website http://orbis.stanford.edu/. This allows a reader to plot any two places in the Roman world and if you input the mode of transport you wish to use and the time of year it will calculate how long it would take you to travel the route. I have used it for all of my books up to the eighteenth century as the transportation system was roughly the same. The Romans would have been quicker! I used it in this book and according to Orbis the journey from London to Rouen would have taken 2.7 days! In summer it would have been 3.1! it is an impressive resource. It explains why Henry get to and from Normandy so quickly.
Griff Hosker
April 2018
Other books
by
Griff Hosker
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The Sword of Cartimandua Series (Germania and Britannia 50A.D. – 130 A.D.)
Ulpius Felix- Roman Warrior (prequel)
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Hrolf the Viking
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The Battle for a Home
Revenge of the Franks
The Land of the Northmen
Ragnvald Hrolfsson
Brothers in Blood
Lord of Rouen
The Anarchy Series England 1120-1180
English Knight
Knight of the Empress
Northern Knight
Baron of the North
Earl
King Henry’s Champion
The King is Dead
Warlord of the North
Enemy at the Gate
Warlord's War
Kingmaker
Henry II
Crusader
The Welsh Marches
Irish War
Poisonous Plots
Princes’ Revolt
Border Knight 1190-1300
Sword for Hire
Return of the Knight
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Blood on the Crown
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Waterloo
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1914
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From Arctic Snow to Desert Sand
Wings over Persia
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Commando
Raider
Behind Enemy Lines
Dieppe
Toehold in Europe
Sword Beach
Breakout
The Battle for Antwerp
King Tiger
Beyond the Rhine
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Carnage at Cannes (a thriller)
Great Granny’s Ghost (Aimed at 9-14-year-old young people)
Adventure at 63-Backpacking to Istanbul
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