Crusade

Robert, ever generous and still inconsolable following Sybilla’s death, failed to respond. Sweyn and I tried to persuade him otherwise, but he always saw the good in people rather than the bad and, given that our warrior instincts were also diminished by our own recent experiences, we found it hard to disabuse him of such noble sentiments.

We were getting older, Robert’s stalwarts in Normandy were getting older, while Henry and many of his supporters were in their prime.

The King had taken great pains, and spent a great deal of money, to cultivate the young Prince Louis, heir to the French throne, whose father, King Philip, once our great friend and powerful ally, was also ageing, becoming more and more corpulent and distracted from the affairs of state by countless nubile concubines at court.

On several occasions, we forced Robert to look at the noose that Henry was tightening around the neck of Normandy, but he chose not to react. Eventually, in exasperation, one night after dinner at his palace in Rouen, we confronted him. He had been in a better mood at table and I suspected he had been finding comfort with a strapping young maid at court, the daughter of a lord from Alsace. We used the comradeship of our Brethren to try to goad him, but Robert was dismissive of our concerns at first.

‘It has nothing to do with our Brethren — this is a matter between Rufus and me, and the people of Normandy.’

‘Robert, Sweyn and I are closer to you than anyone, please listen to us.’

‘I am listening.’

‘But you are not acting on our advice.’

‘Our friendship requires me to listen to your advice, but not necessarily to do as you suggest.’

Sweyn rarely spoke when Robert and I were at odds over big issues, but this time he intervened.

‘Edgar is right, the threat is very real. You must make a move to protect yourself.’

‘Thank you, Sweyn, I respect your opinion — and yours, of course, Edgar — but my mind is clear. An invasion will come, it is as certain as the sun rising in the morning. But what will be, will be. When we hear that Henry is building ships, we will start planning. Edgar, we’ve been together through many battles and have fought men much more fearsome than my little brother. My father managed to invade England by sea and succeeded by the skin of his teeth. It will be much more difficult to invade Normandy and succeed. Don’t worry. If Henry does invade, when he’s lying dead on the battlefield and I become King, I will install you as my Prince Regent and England will be yours at long last.’

While Robert’s promise might have seemed tempting, neither Sweyn nor I thought a victory for Robert a likely result. Henry had shown himself to be very much in his father’s mould — unlike Robert, who was his antithesis.

If a shrewd man were to gamble on the outcome of the fight, it was obvious where he would place his wager.

Robert was as stubborn as he was likeable, but Sweyn and I both felt anxious for him. It was almost as if he was hoping Rufus would take the heavy burden of Normandy’s dukedom from his weary shoulders.

35. Battle of Tinchebrai

Henry’s aggression in Lower Normandy escalated. Bayeux was burned to the ground, Caen was forced to open its gates to him, and then he moved on Falaise. The threat to Falaise, his father’s birthplace and home to his now legendary grandmother, Herleve, finally prompted Robert into action; but he did not summon his army, he went to negotiate.

They met midway between Caen and Falaise. After two days of bitter argument, where Henry’s naked ambition was all too apparent, the two brothers parted acrimoniously, shouting insults at one another.

Robert seemed to be newly invigorated by the abuse thrown at him and decided on a tactic worthy of the bold strategies of the Princes in the Holy Land. He decided to sail for England with only two dozen loyal supporters, walk straight into the King’s Hall at Winchester and get him to see sense by force of argument. No amount of hectoring on our part would convince Robert of the naivety of his plan and so, in late January 1106, we set sail.

Inevitably, the King, although initially shaken by the sudden appearance of his brother, who literally hammered on the doors of Winchester at the break of dawn, was unmoved.

‘There is unrest all over Normandy at the stagnant nature of your rule. The sad loss of Sybilla has neutered you; Normandy has always needed strong leadership, and you are not giving it.’

‘Henry, you will not provoke me with insults and cruel comments about Sybilla’s death. The truth is, we have a treaty, which Edgar, your good friend and mine, negotiated. All I am asking is for you to honour it.’

‘My loyalty to my father and my ancestral homeland prevents me from honouring it. I am approached every day by men who beg me to give them leadership.’

‘My brother, you are deluding yourself, or engaging in a wicked scheme to serve your own interests. Please let it not be the latter.’

‘It is neither; my only interest is Normandy’s future security.’