1035-1054 the son of Arletta. He was courted in accordance with his station and pretensions. To 1040-1047 him resorted the discontented and the scorner, the ambitious and the covetous, and all who hated or despised the Bastard: and the scarcely concealed enmity soon exploded. 1047. Discontent of the Norman The instigators of rebellion were found in the very Danishry of Normandy ;-in the Bessin, Baronage. where the speech of Scandinavia had been so long cherished; and in the frowning Cotentin, crowned by the massy bulwarks whose threatening image is ever rising before our eyes. Sauveur chief amongst the rebels (v. p. 101). The chief fomenter of discontent was Neel, Neel de Saint or Nigel de Saint Sauveur, the premier Baron of Normandy, descended from the most distinguished amongst Rollo's followers. Neel, whose progenitor stood as first individual amongst the Pirates who had received their domains from the great Northman's grant; Neel, pre-eminent by position, wealth, and talent; Neel, whose possessions commanded sea-bord and inland; Neel, rendered equally formidable by the extent of his dominions, and the sturdiness of his vassals, -they who won such fair possessions in England, and who now combined the Frenchman's cultivation with the Berserker's savage valour. ---Hamo Dentatus, or "Rattle Jaw," also joined the insurgents; he, the founder in England of the Durdent family and Grimoald de Plessis, Grimvald de owning the Barony which, at the present day, still bears his name, and commemorates his mis 212 CONSPIRACY AGAINST WILLIAM. 1035-1054 fortunes. And all the Confederates bound themselves by a great oath to work the intruder's destruction. 1040-1047 William at Golet, the fool. William's flight by night. But, where are we to seek young William, who now rises before us as Chief of the Norman Commonwealth? Not in powerful Bayeux, where the speech of the Northmen still lingers as a living tongue. Not in proud, opulent, rebellious Rouen. Not at towering Falaise, where his infant wailings were first heard. But at pleasant Valognes, where temple and hypocaust, theatre and amphitheatre, testified how, in the luxurious Roman days, the locality had been prized. Here William had established himself, holding his Court. Amongst his guests none more important than Golet, the fool. Half demented, though acute withal, this Merry-man becomes conspicuous in the history of Court-jesters; and he had gained cognizance of the conspiracy. In the midst of the night he presented himself at William's door, in full official costume, his bauble slung round his neck; and, knocking violently, he shrieked out, "Up, up, my lord Duke! open! open! flee! flee! or you are a lost man! Delay is death. All are armed; all marshalled; and, if they capture thee, never, never wilt thou again see the light of day!" William obeyed the warning without even a thought of hesitation. No questions asked. No companions to support him. No groom aiding. Half clad, starting from his couch he rushed into the stable, saddled his beast, and 1035-1054 made for the ford of Vire. Hard by the river's 1040-1047 mouth stood, and still stands, the Church of Saint Clement, close upon Isigny.-Here, he tarried; may be, prayed. Bayeux he dared not enter; therefore, he edged his track between the Saxon city and the sea, skirting a neighbourhood, whose name is echoed on our shore of the channel, the bourgade of "Rye." Doubting the loyalty of the inhabitants, he sought for the "Manoir," the dwelling-place par excellence, a term which, amongst us, is extended to the whole demesne. But this signification first obtained in comparatively modern times and so recently, that I cannot recollect a single example of the word's occurrence in an antient English Court roll. Day was dawning; but, ere the sun had cleared William's the horizon, William had arrived at Hubert's door. William's horse, white with foam, bespoke the urgency of the danger which had driven his rider thither. The road through which William escaped still retains the name of la voie du Duc. The local traditions and the Trouveur's lay agree with singular accuracy, and the whole of this narrative abounds with particulars so minutely descriptive, that none but the illustrious fugitive could have told the tale. North lies Cherbourg, that adamantine, stern, threatening arsenal, where, instead of the wooden mallet's dead thud, thud, thud, we are now startled by the harmonious clink, clank, clink, meeting with Hubert. 1010-1047 1035-1054 of the hammer striking upon the sides of the iron-clad vessels, whose terrors are summoning the willing warriors from their homes to defend our shores. General insurrection. Hubert's sons conducted the Duke to palatial Falaise, where he bided his time; his flight the signal for the baronial rebellion. The "Vicecomites," the governing nobility of the land, who appear in England as the "Sciregerefas," seized the Ducal dominions. A hard trial now had William to sustain. He sought refuge at his Suzerain's court. At Poissi, the royal residence, it was in the character of a Vassal that the future Conqueror craved his Liege Lord's Gladly the King welcomed the illusby the King. trious applicant, whose submission purchased protection. Intent upon vengeance, William told over the chief rebels, man by man. It was a proud duty which Henry was required to fulfil, that he should be invoked as William's protector, the heir of Rollo being as yet only dubiously invested with the ducal dignity. William received kindly William assembles his lieges. Loyalty of the Normans. aid. ? 18. William summoned his Lieges from those Baillages in which his authority had been most cordially acknowledged. Rouen manifested unusual loyalty, and the whole Roumois assembled in defence of Rollo's descendant. Caux, and the sturdy and opulent Cauchois, co-operated cheerfully and powerfully. Princely Eu and the Lieuvin poured forth their chivalry: also antique Evreux and the Evreçin; and the combined forces assembled on the wide-spreading Val des Caen. undulating hills, which impart their name to 1035-1054 Val des Dunes,-a region whose conformation 1040-1047 displays the original conjunction of these con-1047 tinental downs with the corresponding tract in Danes, nigh our island; the elastic turf, clear of trees, inclining towards the rising sun. The topographical details are given so picturesquely as to convince us that the Trouveur had studied the scenery which his verse describes. son. portance in the war. Amongst the Barons, there was one who, Cunning adopting the phrase employed during our civil or simwars, sometimes seriously-sometimes sarcastically-was distinguished as a "waiter upon Providence." This individual was Ralph Tesson or Tasson of the Cinglais, Tesson the Badger, so skilful in burrowing his way; equally qualified by cunning and by power. the lead in the Baronial Tesson's men were stationed apart, and Tesson takes their bannerols, waving bright from their lances, army. rendered them conspicuous." Friends or enemies?" enquired the King. The doubt was immediately removed. The stubborn, wily chieftain presents himself first and foremost in the Baronial ranks, whom the chances of civil war would entitle to be honoured as liberators of their father-land from the Bastard's degrading yoke, or branded as rebels. As for Tesso Tesson, he had sworn on the shrine at Bayeux, that he would open the fight by striking the first blow upon the helm of the base-born Pretender. But the Barons were divided in opinion; many saw in William the rightful heir, and VOW. |