CHAPTER XVI
While Norman of Torn and his thousand fighting men marched slowly southon the road toward Dover, the army of Simon de Montfort was preparingfor its advance upon Lewes, where King Henry, with his son PrinceEdward, and his brother, Prince Richard, King of the Romans, togetherwith the latter's son, were entrenched with their forces, sixty thousandstrong.
Before sunrise on a May morning in the year 1264, the barons' army setout from its camp at Fletching, nine miles from Lewes and, marchingthrough dense forests, reached a point two miles from the city,unobserved.
From here, they ascended the great ridge of the hills up the valleyCombe, the projecting shoulder of the Downs covering their march fromthe town. The King's party, however, had no suspicion that an attack wasimminent and, in direct contrast to the methods of the baronial troops,had spent the preceding night in drunken revelry, so that they werequite taken by surprise.
It is true that Henry had stationed an outpost upon the summit of thehill in advance of Lewes, but so lax was discipline in his army thatthe soldiers, growing tired of the duty, had abandoned the post towardmorning, and returned to town, leaving but a single man on watch. He,left alone, had promptly fallen asleep, and thus De Montfort's men foundand captured him within sight of the bell-tower of the Priory of Lewes,where the King and his royal allies lay peacefully asleep, after theirnight of wine and dancing and song.
Had it not been for an incident which now befell, the baronial armywould doubtless have reached the city without being detected, but ithappened that, the evening before, Henry had ordered a foraging party toride forth at daybreak, as provisions for both men and beasts were low.
This party had scarcely left the city behind them ere they fell into thehands of the baronial troops. Though some few were killed or captured,those who escaped were sufficient to arouse the sleeping army of theroyalists to the close proximity and gravity of their danger.
By this time, the four divisions of De Montfort's army were in full viewof the town. On the left were the Londoners under Nicholas de Segrave;in the center rode De Clare, with John Fitz-John and William deMonchensy, at the head of a large division which occupied that branch ofthe hill which descended a gentle, unbroken slope to the town. The rightwing was commanded by Henry de Montfort, the oldest son of Simon deMontfort, and with him was the third son, Guy, as well as John deBurgh and Humphrey de Bohun. The reserves were under Simon de Montforthimself.
Thus was the flower of English chivalry pitted against the King and hisparty, which included many nobles whose kinsmen were with De Montfort;so that brother faced brother, and father fought against son, on thatbloody Wednesday, before the old town of Lewes.
Prince Edward was the first of the royal party to take the field and, ashe issued from the castle with his gallant company, banners andpennons streaming in the breeze and burnished armor and flashing bladescintillating in the morning sunlight, he made a gorgeous and impressivespectacle as he hurled himself upon the Londoners, whom he had selectedfor attack because of the affront they had put upon his mother that dayat London on the preceding July.
So vicious was his onslaught that the poorly armed and unprotectedburghers, unused to the stern game of war, fell like sheep before theiron men on their iron shod horses. The long lances, the heavy maces,the six-bladed battle axes, and the well-tempered swords of the knightsplayed havoc among them, so that the rout was complete; but, not contentwith victory, Prince Edward must glut his vengeance, and so he pursuedthe citizens for miles, butchering great numbers of them, while manymore were drowned in attempting to escape across the Ouse.
The left wing of the royalist army, under the King of the Romans and hisgallant son, was not so fortunate, for they met a determined resistanceat the hands of Henry de Montfort.
The central divisions of the two armies seemed well matched also, andthus the battle continued throughout the day, the greatest advantageappearing to lie with the King's troops. Had Edward not gone so farafield in pursuit of the Londoners, the victory might easily have beenon the side of the royalists early in the day, but by thus eliminatinghis division after defeating a part of De Montfort's army, it was asthough neither of these two forces had been engaged.
The wily Simon de Montfort had attempted a little ruse which centeredthe fighting for a time upon the crest of one of the hills. He hadcaused his car to be placed there, with the tents and luggage of many ofhis leaders, under a small guard, so that the banners there displayed,together with the car, led the King of the Romans to believe that theEarl himself lay there, for Simon de Montfort had but a month or sobefore suffered an injury to his hip when his horse fell with him, andthe royalists were not aware that he had recovered sufficiently to againmount a horse.
And so it was that the forces under the King of the Romans pushed backthe men of Henry de Montfort, and ever and ever closer to the car camethe royalists until they were able to fall upon it, crying out insultsagainst the old Earl and commanding him to come forth. And when they hadkilled the occupants of the car, they found that Simon de Montfortwas not among them, but instead he had fastened there three importantcitizens of London, old men and influential, who had opposed him, andaided and abetted the King.
So great was the wrath of Prince Richard, King of the Romans, thathe fell upon the baronial troops with renewed vigor, and slowly butsteadily beat them back from the town.
This sight, together with the routing of the enemy's left wing by PrinceEdward, so cheered and inspired the royalists that the two remainingdivisions took up the attack with refreshed spirits so that, what amoment before had hung in the balance, now seemed an assured victory forKing Henry.
Both De Montfort and the King had thrown themselves into the meleewith all their reserves. No longer was there semblance of organization.Division was inextricably bemingled with division; friend and foe formeda jumbled confusion of fighting, cursing chaos, over which whipped theangry pennons and banners of England's noblest houses.
That the mass seemed moving ever away from Lewes indicated that theKing's arms were winning toward victory, and so it might have been hadnot a new element been infused into the battle; for now upon the brow ofthe hill to the north of them appeared a great horde of armored knights,and as they came into position where they could view the battle, theleader raised his sword on high, and, as one man, the thousand brokeinto a mad charge.
Both De Montfort and the King ceased fighting as they gazed upon thisbody of fresh, well armored, well mounted reinforcements. Whom mightthey be? To which side owned they allegiance? And, then, as theblack falcon wing on the banners of the advancing horsemen becamedistinguishable, they saw that it was the Outlaw of Torn.
Now he was close upon them, and had there been any doubt before, thewild battle cry which rang from a thousand fierce throats turned thehopes of the royalists cold within their breasts.
"For De Montfort! For De Montfort!" and "Down with Henry!" rang loud andclear above the din of battle.
Instantly the tide turned, and it was by only the barest chance thatthe King himself escaped capture, and regained the temporary safety ofLewes.
The King of the Romans took refuge within an old mill, and here it wasthat Norman of Torn found him barricaded. When the door was broken down,the outlaw entered and dragged the monarch forth with his own hand tothe feet of De Montfort, and would have put him to death had not theEarl intervened.
"I have yet to see my mark upon the forehead of a King," said Norman ofTorn, "and the temptation be great; but, an you ask it, My Lord Earl,his life shall be yours to do with as you see fit."
"You have fought well this day, Norman of Torn," replied De Montfort."Verily do I believe we owe our victory to you alone; so do not mar therecord of a noble deed by wanton acts of atrocity."
"It is but what they had done to me, were I the prisoner instead,"retorted the outlaw.
And Simon de Montfort could not answer that, for it was but the simpletruth.
"How comes it, Norman of Torn," asked De Montfor
t as they rode togethertoward Lewes, "that you threw the weight of your sword upon the side ofthe barons? Be it because you hate the King more?"
"I do not know that I hate either, My Lord Earl," replied the outlaw. "Ihave been taught since birth to hate you all, but why I should hatewas never told me. Possibly it be but a bad habit that will yield to mymaturer years.
"As for why I fought as I did today," he continued, "it be because theheart of Lady Bertrade, your daughter, be upon your side. Had it beenwith the King, her uncle, Norman of Torn had fought otherwise thanhe has this day. So you see, My Lord Earl, you owe me no gratitude.Tomorrow I may be pillaging your friends as of yore."
Simon de Montfort turned to look at him, but the blank wall of hislowered visor gave no sign of the thoughts that passed beneath.
"You do much for a mere friendship, Norman of Torn," said the Earlcoldly, "and I doubt me not but that my daughter has already forgot you.An English noblewoman, preparing to become a princess of France, doesnot have much thought to waste upon highwaymen." His tone, as well ashis words were studiously arrogant and insulting, for it had stung thepride of this haughty noble to think that a low-born knave boasted thefriendship of his daughter.
Norman of Torn made no reply, and could the Earl of Leicester have seenhis face, he had been surprised to note that instead of grim hatred andresentment, the features of the Outlaw of Torn were drawn in lines ofpain and sorrow; for he read in the attitude of the father what he mightexpect to receive at the hands of the daughter.