“A battle won is a terrible thing. I have experience of that. I imagine that a battle lost would be many times worse, not least because of the effect on the local people. Again, at the risk of offending you, there are no English sagas of victories won, because you always lose. In the last 200 years, excluding the Danish kings, I could count on the fingers of one hand those Saxon kings who understood war and who could adequately protect your lands. In fact since Alfred the Great I could probably only mention Edmund Ironside, who died young after only eight months as king, and Harold Godwinson, who was king for a similar period, who had any idea how to defend the country. Instead you choose to buy off the invaders, which worked sometimes, but at what cost?”
Queen Edith interjected quietly but forcefully, “The last year it was paid, in ’51, the Danegeld cost?82,500.”
Alan nodded and continued. “?82,500 a year. That is an amount that is simply beyond comprehension. It would have paid for a lot of soldiers and ships- an army and a navy that could defend England. The fact is that you English have chosen not to defend yourselves. It was easier to pay the enemy off. That was not the attitude of Byrhtnoth, who preferred to fight to the death. Other lands have chosen to become military in their economy and outlook. England has chosen not to do so, and that is why, over the last few hundred years, those countries that see being a warrior as an honourable occupation and who are prepared to move and expand have seen England as a ‘soft’ target- because you lack the will to defend yourselves.
“Vikings, Danes and now Normans have invaded and taken over your country. If and when you take defence seriously and are prepared to accept new methods of warfare instead of those that are 200 years out of date, you may be able to adequately defend yourselves. Individually your warriors are as brave and capable as any in the world. What they lack is discipline, training and leadership. Vikings, now Norwegians, Danes and Normans see warfare as a way of life, something to be embraced and encouraged. You English react to this, but invariably lose because your army is a levy that does not know how to fight. I’m addressing that problem in Tendring Hundred. England cannot survive unless that approach is adopted generally, although I am sure that the Norman lords have no intention of training their English minions in war as they will be afraid that this will be used against them.”
There was the sound of slow applause from one person, Queen Edith. “I wondered if I was being too subtle having Aelfric recite The Battle of Maldon, intending to have people draw a connection with the battles of last year, except that Harold wasn’t as stupid as Byrhtnoth and gave away no advantages. There are a number of men here who are, or have been, professional warriors. The only person here who seems to have heard my intended message is a foreigner who fought on the other side. All the rest of you were carried away unthinkingly by the patriotism and heroism of the story. The real story is that you only fight a battle you can win and there is no heroism in losing or death. Ask Edith Swan-Neck what the battlefield of Hastings looked like the next day, and how her lover was so disfigured by his wounds that she could only recognise him by a tattoo. Could Harold have won at Hastings?” she asked Alan.
“Definitely! The outcome was in doubt right until Harold fell. Until that moment the English could have won,” replied Alan. “Even then, had Leofwine or Gyrth still been alive to command the army, they could have either won or forced a draw and continued the fight- which with more English warriors arriving was all that the English had to do. William had to win, and win that day, or the invasion was lost. Even after Harold fell the Royal Huscarles, the thegns and their huscarles fought on… and on… and on. They had to be killed to the last man. The killing was still going on when it was fully dark. We Normans could not believe their braveness or stubbornness,” replied Alan.
“Better to be dead than run and disgraced. They also fought to the last at Maldon. And Harold had told them to stand and fight,” said Regenbald.
“Their braveness, stubbornness… and their stupidity,” replied Edith. “That is precisely my point and the point I sought to make in tonight’s saga. It’s because of that pride 2,000 manor halls have lost their thegns, men who could have lived and continue to lead the English, who will now be ruled by Normans. Any chance of effective English resistance died with them. By their pride they failed their villages and their country. Had those professional warriors survived along with just one of our generals we could have continued to resist. Instead England chose suicide that evening,” said Queen Edith harshly.
“Now, if you ladies and gentlemen will excuse me, I think that it’s time to retire,” she continued. “There will be an escort of guards to accompany you to Ludgate and I have arranged with the captain of the guard to have the gate opened to admit those of you who are residing in the city. Unless you wish to spend the night here, I suggest you make ready to leave shortly.” With a regal nod Queen Edith strode from the chamber.
The following morning Alan and Anne examined the list of properties that Malachi had as promised sent around to them, a dozen in all. Being a Sunday, the 22nd of July, there was little else to do after attending Mass at the nearby St Peter’s Church and they wandered around the city looking at each house from the street.
Feeling much safer with Bishop William and Engelric now knowing that the depositions had been delivered to the Chancellor, Alan was content to walk abroad with just two bodyguards as security against the usual cut-throats that inhabited every city.
Despite having a population of some 10,000 crammed within the city walls, with the closure of the shops and markets for Sunday the city was surprisingly lacking in hustle and bustle and the people who still thronged the streets moved more slowly and with less urgency. As they knew Jews work on Sundays, that afternoon they sent Leof to Malachi with a list of the eight houses they wished to inspect, suggesting Tuesday as being suitable. That evening Malachi sent a note in reply confirming that one of his retainers who was familiar with the properties would arrive at eight in the morning on that day to conduct them to the various properties.
The next morning, Monday, Anne and Alan visited the two glassmakers in the city, both workshops being near each other on Ropery Street near the river.
The use of glass was rare and it was explained to them that there were only three glassmakers in England, two in London and one in York. Alan explained their needs. Four large windows each about six feet high by four feet wide for one side of the Hall, eight smaller windows about four feet square, four for the opposite side of the Hall above the height of the guest rooms and four for the private rooms at the end of the Hall. Finally they needed eleven small windows about two feet by one foot for the ten guest rooms and the bathing room.
The transparency of the glass was not of particular concern as the purchase was for the purpose of allowing in light, not beautiful creations like the stained glass windows that both workshops had under manufacture. They settled on a price with a master-glassmaker from Paris named Renier, an elderly man who had migrated to England ten years before and whose broad-sheet glass was of higher quality than that of the other workshop, which Renier described as being operated by a former employee.
They watched intrigued as Renier by way of demonstration heated a mass of glass in the first furnace and blew it into an elongated shape with a blow-pipe. He then reheated it several times in the second furnace and then, while the glass was still hot, cut off both ends before cutting the resulting cylinder with shears and flattened the sheet onto a heated iron plate and then allowed the glass to slowly anneal in the third and coolest furnace to avoid it cracking.
Renier explained that the resulting piece of glass would be about one foot square after being trimmed, and that the windows would need to be made of a number of panes fitted into a wooden frame, which could then be opened or closed depending on the wish of the owner to admit or exclude outside air. On discussion with Renier Alan and Anne decided that the slightly greenish soda-glass would be acceptable, being the cheaper alternative both because of the materials and the greater ease of handling at lower temperatures.