Crusade

The incident reflected all that was true about William’s tenure. The sense of dread he embodied, which had guaranteed subservience, was only superficial — now that his presence was no more than a haunch of flesh, the aura had been dissolved. Those once cowed were emboldened to speak their mind.

Greater indignity was to follow. When the casket was brought forward for the body to be lowered into it, it was too small. With everyone turning away in embarrassment, the funeral attendants tried to force the issue by attempting to prise the King’s quart-sized frame into a pint-pot of a coffin. At this point, the bungling of the embalmers proved to have been as monumentally inept as that of the coffin-makers.

Still rotting on the inside, the bloated corpse burst open like the putrid carcass of an animal, splattering those nearby with its rancid contents. The smell was so unbearable that the abbey emptied within minutes. The only saving grace for those lowly clerics left to clear up the mess was that the suddenly deflated corpse could now be squeezed into its resting place, allowing the task to be hurriedly completed and the coffin sealed.

The era of William, Duke of Normandy, conqueror of England, was over.

Like so many others, I was not sorry to see him go. His ambitions had brought death to tens of thousands and pain and suffering to many more. He had killed the noble Harold and destroyed the mighty English army at Senlac Ridge; he had cut down the Brotherhood of St Etheldreda — the bravest of the brave — at the Siege of Ely and taken Hereward from us. In doing all of that, he had denied me the throne that would, one day, have been mine. I no longer resented that, but I did feel bitter about all the other things he had done.

Adela spoke for the others over dinner that night, a meal that was much more like a celebration than a wake.

‘A lot of people will rest easier in their beds now that he’s gone. Good riddance to the bastard!’

While I shared her sentiments about his passing, I feared that her prediction about people sleeping more comfortably in the future would prove to be wrong. William had changed all our lives for ever. I pondered how profoundly our lives would yet be changed in the lengthening shadow of his legacy.

18. The Anointing

William Rufus became William II of England in a grand ceremony in Westminster Abbey on the 26th of September 1087. He had required my attendance to kiss his ring at the appointed time, thus adding authority to his succession, and Robert was happy to give his blessing for me to travel to England with my small band of brothers-in-arms.

The saintly King Edward’s most celebrated building was crowded with the great nobles of the realm, dressed in their heraldic finery, their ladies in fine silks and jewels. Horns saluted, drums beat the rhythm of the procession and the monks chanted in homage as Rufus became King of England.

Perversely, there were not many Englishmen there; I guessed that not more than one in ten was a native of our island. I performed my role and knelt before our new lord and kissed his ring, thus anointing him on behalf of my kith and kin. It was a strange sensation, not helped by the contemptuous smirk which met my eyes as I looked up at him. I had a lingering sense of betrayal, a sin I could have redeemed there and then by plunging my seax deep into his chest. But it would have been merely a gesture, and a futile one at that; there were legions of Normans to take his place.

After his crowning, Rufus dutifully carried out his father’s wishes and distributed money to all the churches of England. He freed Bishop Odo, but had Earl Morcar re-arrested. However, he was moderately well treated in a manner befitting an earl of the realm. The people of England appeared to grudgingly accept Rufus as the legitimate heir to the throne, although resentment at the Norman lordship still ran deep.

The plots that had been hatching within the Norman hierarchy regarding the successions — both in England and in Normandy — soon began to unfold.

Odo was at the centre of it all and had recruited the powerful Robert of Mortain to the cause. By Christmas, they had been joined by Geoffrey, Bishop of Coutances, and his nephew, the Earl of Northumbria, as well as by Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury, and Count Eustace of Boulogne. By March 1088, they were strong enough to make their move.

We had returned to Rouen earlier in the year, where a messenger arrived just after Easter summoning me to Rochester to meet Odo and his co-conspirators. I told Duke Robert about the summons.

He agreed that I should go, but warned me to be extremely careful.

‘Odo is ruthless and ambitious and will do anything to further his own cause. He is not my father’s half-brother for nothing.’

‘I presume he thinks that by usurping Rufus and offering you the throne, he can become your regent in England.’