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23 - Normans in Europe by Arthur Henry Johnson · Normans in Europe

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  Speaker 1: Section twenty three of The Normans in Europe by Arthur
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  Speaker 1: Henry Johnson. This librovox recording is in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: Read by Pamel and Agami, Chapter fifteen William Rufus ten
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  Speaker 1: eighty seven to eleven hundred, Part two. No king or
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  Speaker 1: emperor joined the First Crusade. It was rather a war
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  Speaker 1: of counts and dukes. Viewed from this aspect, it assumes
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  Speaker 1: the appearance of a great family coalition and divides into
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  Speaker 1: four leading interests. One the Lorraine and Flemish interest, headed
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  Speaker 1: by Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, Robert, Count of Flanders,
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  Speaker 1: and Baldwin Avena his cousin. Two the Vermandois party, headed
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  Speaker 1: by Hugh of Vermandois, brother of Philip, King of France, who,
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  Speaker 1: through his marriage with the Della, heiress of the old
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  Speaker 1: Counts of Vermontois, was closely connected with the Lorraine and
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  Speaker 1: Flemish interests. Three the Norman party headed by Bowman, Prince
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  Speaker 1: of Tarento, Tankered his cousin, and Robert, Duke of Normandy.
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  Speaker 1: All these were more or less united by ties of
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  Speaker 1: blood and interest. The counts of Flanders were connected with
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  Speaker 1: the ducal houses of Normandy and Apulia by marriage with
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  Speaker 1: the houses of Bologna and vermont Bois by the tie
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  Speaker 1: of sympathy. The House of Boologna had long had dealings
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  Speaker 1: with the Normans of England. Eustace, the father of the Crusader,
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  Speaker 1: had been one of the Normanizing party under Edward the Confessor,
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  Speaker 1: then a rebel under William the First. Eustace. This man's
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  Speaker 1: son had joined Robert against William Rufus, and was eventually
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  Speaker 1: to become the father in law of our King Stephen,
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  Speaker 1: the last of the Norman dynasty. In England. The relations
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  Speaker 1: between Normandy and the South of Italy were no less close.
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  Speaker 1: No direct marriage indeed took place between the princely houses
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  Speaker 1: of Normandy and Italy, but Count Roger married a distant
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  Speaker 1: relation of the conqueror. The real connection, however, is to
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  Speaker 1: be found in the intercourse between the two countries. This
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  Speaker 1: is illustrated by the similarity of the government of Sicily
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  Speaker 1: with that of Norman England. We find a justiciary and
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  Speaker 1: a constable mentioned in Sicily as early as the middle
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  Speaker 1: of the twelfth century, and the Sicilian kings also had
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  Speaker 1: an exchequer, the idea of which was probably borrowed from
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  Speaker 1: Normandy or England, but through the church lay the chief
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  Speaker 1: bond of Union. Many, a Norman and English ecclesiastic, wandered
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  Speaker 1: south and became a bishop in Apulia or Sicily. The
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  Speaker 1: architecture of Normandy may have borrowed the pointed arch from
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  Speaker 1: the Saracen buildings of Sicily, while in the South othern
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  Speaker 1: churches we easily detect the Norman moldings and tracery. Norman
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  Speaker 1: monasteries were founded by giese Gar in Italy as dependencies
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  Speaker 1: of saintavrule, hence a constant intercourse between Normandy and Italy,
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  Speaker 1: and from the chronicle of Ortocus Vitalis, the Monk of Evroul,
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  Speaker 1: we learn much of the Norman doings in Italy and
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  Speaker 1: the Norman view of the Crusades. Thus, then the First
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  Speaker 1: Crusade may, under one aspect, be called a great Norman
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  Speaker 1: family alliance, and though the Lorraine interest was greatest at Jerusalem,
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  Speaker 1: that of the Normans of Italy affected in no slight
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  Speaker 1: manner the character of the expedition itself. The members of
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  Speaker 1: this family coalition severally represent the various types of crusaders
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  Speaker 1: and the divergent motives under which they acted. Godfrey of
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  Speaker 1: Pouillon and Tancred of Sicily are fair representatives of the
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  Speaker 1: religious devotees who entered upon the crusades, as others had
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  Speaker 1: gone upon pilgrimages, in the simple spirit of devotion and
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  Speaker 1: yearn to win back the sepulcher from the sacrilegious hands
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  Speaker 1: of the Turks. Robert of Normandy best represents the wild
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  Speaker 1: spirit of adventure which found so congenial a field in
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  Speaker 1: the Crusading Wars. His impatience of restraint had led him
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  Speaker 1: to quarrel with his father, his carelessness had brought Normandy
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  Speaker 1: into anarchy and reduced himself to penury. And now, with
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  Speaker 1: the same indifference to the future, he had pledged his
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  Speaker 1: ducal crown of Normandy to his brother and went on
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  Speaker 1: a crusade, not to win a dominion in the East,
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  Speaker 1: but only to satisfy his roaming love of knight Errantry,
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  Speaker 1: eventually to return once more to trouble Normandy with his
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  Speaker 1: bad government, and finally to end his foolish life endurance
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  Speaker 1: at Cardiff. In Bowmand, we see the type of those
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  Speaker 1: who joined the crusade for motives of sel aggrandizement. To Bowman,
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  Speaker 1: the calm and cold politician politics stood in the place
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  Speaker 1: of religion. He used the religious enthusiasm of others to
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  Speaker 1: carry on his long cherished schemes of conquest. The eldest
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  Speaker 1: son of Robert Gistgar, he had taken a prominent part
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  Speaker 1: in his father's wars against the Eastern Empire. On his death,
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  Speaker 1: Giesegar left Apulia to his second son, Roger, while to
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  Speaker 1: Boumand was granted the principality of Tarento and Bari, with
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  Speaker 1: the traditions of his father's exploits, the hope of winning
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  Speaker 1: an empire in Dalmatia, Epirus and Thessaly. To Bowman, therefore,
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  Speaker 1: the Crusade appeared as an opportunity of pressing his political
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  Speaker 1: schemes and of gaining a principality, if not in Thessaly,
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  Speaker 1: at least somewhere in the East, perhaps even of winning
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  Speaker 1: Constantinople itself, if we may believe the chronicler William of Malmsbury,
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  Speaker 1: he urged Urban to the crusade for this very purpose,
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  Speaker 1: and his future policy shows clearly that he cared nothing
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  Speaker 1: for the success of the ostensible objects of the crusade.
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  Speaker 1: Such were the many sided interests which for a short
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  Speaker 1: time united led to the First Crusade. Into the details
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  Speaker 1: we cannot enter, suffice it to say that the close
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  Speaker 1: of the eleventh century found a Frankish kingdom founded on
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  Speaker 1: the shores of Palestine, Godfrey of Bouillon, King of Jerusalem,
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  Speaker 1: Baldwin his brother at Odessa in Mesopotamia, Bowmand with a
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  Speaker 1: semi independent principality at Antioch and Toncrid, holding the city
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  Speaker 1: of Caifa on the sea board. Thus, then with the
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  Speaker 1: First Crusade, the Norman power reached its climax. The Norman
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  Speaker 1: not only ruled in England and Normandy, Apulia and Sicily,
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  Speaker 1: but had spread to the far East and was the
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  Speaker 1: first to plant his foot on the shores of Palestine,
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  Speaker 1: where no European had ruled since the days of Heraclius
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  Speaker 1: a d. Six twenty eight. Meanwhile, in England, Rufus had
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  Speaker 1: been enjoying the material prosperity so often permitted to the wicked.
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  Speaker 1: He had triumphed over the Scots and Welsh, The last
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  Speaker 1: rebellion of his nobles had been ruthlessly crushed. The Church
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  Speaker 1: was completely at his feet. Anselm had been driven from England.
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  Speaker 1: In ten ninety seven, Thomas Archbishop of York, who enjoyed
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  Speaker 1: a precarious greatness and consequence of the exile of Anselm,
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  Speaker 1: was on his deathbed, and William had in his hands
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  Speaker 1: all the domains of the Archbishopric of Canterbury, those of
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  Speaker 1: the bishoprics of Westminster and Salisbury, together with those of
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  Speaker 1: twelve or more of the richest abbeys of England. Freed
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  Speaker 1: thus from the restraint of those who would have been
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  Speaker 1: as censers. He openly spoke of turning all ecclesiastical property
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  Speaker 1: into fiefs, declared that he would become a Jew if
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  Speaker 1: he could beat the Christians in argument, and daily became
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  Speaker 1: more reckless and profane. Never day dawned, says his chronicler,
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  Speaker 1: but he rose a worse man than he had laid down.
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  Speaker 1: Never suns set, but he lay down a worse man
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  Speaker 1: than he had risen. Yet in spite of his wickedness,
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  Speaker 1: he had energy and ability. Had these been only directed
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  Speaker 1: to better ends, England might have blessed instead of cursed
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  Speaker 1: his name. As it was. The feudal nobility were at
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  Speaker 1: least kept down the incorporation of Cumberland with England, which
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  Speaker 1: may be dated from his reign, as well as the
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  Speaker 1: conquest of South Wales were lasting additions to the strength
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  Speaker 1: of this country, and the Tower of London, completed by
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  Speaker 1: him in the Noble Hall of Westminster, built at this date,
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  Speaker 1: still stand as memorials to his greatness. Abroad, he was
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  Speaker 1: equally successful, anxious to get the alliance of Normandy against
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  Speaker 1: the return of Robert. His government there, in contrast to
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  Speaker 1: that of England, was discreet and moderate. Order and justice,
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  Speaker 1: both neglected by his careless brother, were restored, and the
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  Speaker 1: country flourished. The vacant abbeys and seas were all filled up,
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  Speaker 1: the royal domains which had been dissipated by the extravagance
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  Speaker 1: of Robert, were restored, and the Norman barons who held
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  Speaker 1: lands in Normandy and England quietly acquiesced in an undivided allegiance.
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  Speaker 1: Strong in Normandy, he waged a successful war against Philip
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  Speaker 1: of France and soon gained the Castle of Jiesour, an
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  Speaker 1: important outpost surrendered by Robert Maine. Indeed, he never gained this,
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  Speaker 1: the first conquest outside the Duchy made by William. The
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  Speaker 1: first had never acquiesced in the Norman rule. Profiting by
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  Speaker 1: the disturbed condition of Normandy under Robert. It had once
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  Speaker 1: more rebelled under Elis de l Flesh, nephew of Count Herbert,
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  Speaker 1: and renewed its allegiance to the Count of Anjou. Though
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  Speaker 1: Rufus once retook Maine, his authority was never recognized, and
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  Speaker 1: the county was not secured to England till the reign
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  Speaker 1: of Henry the First. In spite, however, of this repulse,
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  Speaker 1: the power of Rufus increased day by day, till, puffed
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  Speaker 1: up by his successes, he spoke of conquering Ireland and
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  Speaker 1: claiming the throne of France, even of taking Rome itself.
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  Speaker 1: From these ambitious dreams, he was suddenly called away by
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  Speaker 1: an ignominious debt. Among the acts of his father, none
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  Speaker 1: had caused more misery or stirred more deeply the heart
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  Speaker 1: of the English against him than his cruel clearing of
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  Speaker 1: the new forest for the deer he loved so well.
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  Speaker 1: Under his son, the forest, laws and courts had been
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  Speaker 1: used as engines of tyranny. There arbitrary custom prevailed. The
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  Speaker 1: courts were presided over by special officials who were irresponsible
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  Speaker 1: except to the King, and laws drawn up rather for
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  Speaker 1: the protection of the beasts of Chase than of the
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  Speaker 1: king's subjects. On one occasion, Rufus had refused to accept
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  Speaker 1: the verdict of the ordeal by which fifty Englishmen had
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  Speaker 1: freed themselves from the accusation of poaching, declaring that God
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  Speaker 1: was no judge of offenses against the forest laws. Cursed
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  Speaker 1: by such laws as these, the fair glades of the
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  Speaker 1: forest were looked upon as haunted and fatal to the
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  Speaker 1: conqueror's family. There his son Richard had died a mysterious death,
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  Speaker 1: and there another Richard, son of Robert, had fallen at
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  Speaker 1: the beginning of the year, by an ill aimed bolt.
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  Speaker 1: Numerous portents warned the king that his end was near,
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  Speaker 1: even he himself had been terrified by an awful dream.
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  Speaker 1: But William heeded. Not. Do they think me an Englishman
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  Speaker 1: to put off a journey for an old wife's fancy?
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  Speaker 1: He cried, and from a last while Debauchan eleven hundred
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  Speaker 1: he went into the forest to die. Whether he was
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  Speaker 1: slain by the accidental aim of Walter Tyrrel, or by
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  Speaker 1: falling on the point of an arrow as he stooped
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  Speaker 1: over his prey, or by the hands of some of
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  Speaker 1: those half starved peasants whose homes had been destroyed to
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  Speaker 1: yield him sport. None can say he died unloved and unblessed.
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  Speaker 1: His body, dragged into Westminster by one sorry horse, found
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  Speaker 1: indeed a grave amongst the old kings of England, but
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  Speaker 1: received no Christian burial. And when a short time after
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  Speaker 1: the Tower of Winchester fell, men said it was a
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  Speaker 1: sign of God's wrath, because his cursed body had found
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  Speaker 1: a resting place within that sacred pile. End of Section
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  Speaker 1: twenty three.