Raoul nodded and replied, “I hold Haughley in Stow Hundred in Suffolk from Richard fitzGilbert, and Gilbert has a manor in Herefordshire. We were just discussing the problem of ruling a manor, and indeed a country, where every man hates you.”
“I’m sure that the ‘king of Tendring’ can give you some hints,” said Roger with a twinkle in his eye.
Alan pulled a wry face. “Remember two simple things. Firstly that, apart from a few slaves, all the men and women on your manors are freemen and freewomen with rights before the law- they are not villeins or serfs. Also, most of the slaves only have that status for a short period until they have paid off the debt or fine that gave rise to their bondage. Secondly, pay respect to the traditions and laws of the villagers and the English in general. Now Gilbert, where is your manor? I’ve just been lumbered by the king with four manors on the Welsh border, so it seems we’ll be neighbours of a sort.
“My manor is at Burton, in the Golden Valley,” replied Gilbert. Both he and Raoul were agog that somebody of apparently modest mean, not mixing with the great lords, could see the gift of four manors from the king’s own hand as being a nuisance rather than the ultimate accolade that a knight could receive.
“Your manors are to the west of Hereford, so there’s probably not much left after Bleddyn of Gwynedd and Eadric cild have been burning most of the shire during the summer and autumn. That’ll keep you busy,” said Roger with a grimace.
“That’s the king’s idea, I think,” said Alan with a scowl.
Roger continued, “Gilbert here was just saying that with any luck most of the English thegns won’t be able to afford their Relief and there’ll be more land parcelled out to good Normans. Perhaps earls Edwin and Morcar will fall out of favour and their lands will also be redistributed.” Here Roger pointed a finger to a small group of Englishmen who Alan hadn’t noticed so far.
“Indeed,” replied Gilbert eagerly, as Roger and Alan gave them a nod and began to move away through the crowd.
As they moved away Alan commented “What a fucking mess! We have people like you and me who do our job and try to preserve the kingdom. And we have the robber-barons who extort every penny they can for their own benefit, including a half-brother of the king. One senior baron, who led one wing of the attack at Hastings, decides in a huff to attack the king’s own castle at Dover, because he thinks he should have been appointed castellan, and then tries to blame the Kentishmen! Osulf of Northumbria, of the Bamburgh family, murders Copsi the king’s appointed earl, and then a month or two ago gets himself killed by bandits. And the Normans are lining up like vultures to take every manor they can. Let’s get some benefit from this evening. Can you conduct me around the room and introduce me to the various counts and nobles? I’ve seen most of them at a distance and it may be helpful to meet them socially- outside of business, as it were.”
Those at the party were in their way more notable than those at the soiree held by Queen Edith months previously. Although some of the lords had brought their wives with them when they had returned with William, or those who had stayed over the summer had sent for them, the great majority of those present were male. The wives of some of the greater nobles were present, along with those of the middling and lesser lords.
The younger men were almost exclusively bachelors. They had been poor landless second and third sons in Normandy before the invasion, and since arriving in England their chances of marrying a wife of Norman, French, Flemish or other continental origin, let alone marrying well, had been virtually nil as there had simply been no suitable women available. A few, like Alan, had married Englishwomen, but even fewer had brought them to the soiree.
Of the men, they were divided into three distinct age groups. The first was those more elderly than William, who had helped protect him and secure him in his position as Duke of Normandy. These included Count Robert of Eu and Hugh de Montford.
The second group was comprised of William’s contemporaries- mostly his friends, but a few such as Hugh de Grandmesnil with whom William had fallen out with over the years and more latterly reconciled. They were in the main between 45 and 50 years old and included Roger de Montgomerie, Richard fitzGilbert, Geoffrey de Mandeville and the somewhat younger William de Warenne, who with his Flemish wife Gundred was hosting this party. Judging by the sour expression on his face and the amount of wine he was consuming, the party clearly was something that wasn’t William de Warenne’s idea. This tight-knit group were closely related by marriage or birth. Bishop Odo of Bayeux and Count Robert of Mortain were half-brothers to the king. William fitzOsbern and most of the others were cousins and similar relations.
A few younger long-time supporters such as Stephen, the Count of Treguier, Brittany and Lamballe, fitted in between William’s cronies, along with the sons of the older group, such as William of Eu and the new men achieving position as a result of the invasion- including Alan himself, Roger Bigod, Hugh fitzGrip, Ivo Taillebois and many others.
Noticeable amongst the absentees were most of the clergy, including Odo of Bayeux and the Englishmen Aealdred of York and Stigand of Canterbury.
It would be unfair to describe King William as paranoid. He’d had a difficult late childhood with repeated attempts to murder him. He’d had to fight to take his position as duke against a number of rebels, most of whom had been close to his father, Robert the Magnificent. He had lost three guardians either to murder or in defending him as a child as he was taken to safety.
His guardians had moved him every month or so to preserve his security. William, at the age of 19, finally secured control of Normandy by defeating rebel Norman barons at Caen in 1047. He then had to fight off two invasion attempts by the French in 1054 and 1057- the French once again had some treacherous Normans fighting on their side in those invasions.
During the time, until he had Normandy fully under his iron fist, raids, battles and murder between the nobles of Normandy had been common. William had extended his power and influence with a series of carefully considered steps.
One of those steps was marrying Matilda of Flanders, which had initially secured his northern flank, and more latterly since the death of King Henry of France and the appointment of William’s father-in-law Baldwin of Flanders as guardian of the young King Philip, also secured the east. The west had been secured by the installation of a friendly regime in Brittany when invasion had not initially been successful, after Duke Conan died of poison in suspicious circumstances. In the south Maine had been annexed and formed a buffer against the hostile Angevins. It was the relative peace and security in Normandy which had permitted William to make his bid for the English throne.
It would be fair to say that by winter of 1067 William was very, very careful about who he trusted and to whom he gave power and land- land which gave the ability to raise military forces for or against him. Even as late as the summer of 1067 William had suffered the defection of Eustace of Boulogne, who made a raid on Dover. Those who received the main benefits of the invasion were those who had supported William for 20 years or more and who had contributed substantially to the invasion fleet. Most were close relations, with ties of kinship or marriage.
As Alan progressed around the Hall it was almost as if he had the same conversation a dozen or so times. The Norman barons were interested only in military matters, land and developing relations that improved their access to military forces and land. Many were illiterate, with no knowledge or interest in French or Latin literature, and had most had no interest in writing, poetry or anything that didn’t improve the strength of their swords.