CHAPTER XLIX
COLLINGHAM’S RAVENS
It has been before stated that William de Collingham had a very strongreason for forming his camp of refuge where he did form it--on the isletin the heart of a forest in Sussex, and near the sea-coast. Hisadventure at Chas-Chateil had very forcibly reminded the stout knightthat connected with the ruins tenanted by the anchorite at the islet wasa secret passage formed by the hand of man in the earlier days ofEngland’s history, and leading to a precipitous little vale in the wood,at the distance of half-a-mile. This passage was not, indeed, in thebest condition, the ground having in some places fallen in, so as almostto block it up; but the knight, on examining it carefully, saw that witha little labour it might be rendered passable without inconvenience, andnot only give his followers a great advantage over their foes in thepartisan warfare which he intended to carry on, but afford them themeans of a secret retreat in case of being threatened by anyoverwhelming force.
In both respects the subterranean passage served his purpose admirably.By means of it, even when the islet was invested, Oliver Icingla wasenabled to sally forth on such nocturnal expeditions as that duringwhich he entered the tent of Eveille-chiens, and seized that leader’sbanner, the display of which gave the foreigners an idea thatpreternatural influences were at work against them; and by means of it,when the islet was invested by Eveille-chiens and Ralph Hornmouth withsuch a body of troops that resistance would have been hopeless,Collingham, while his enemies were occupied with the construction of thecauseway, gradually withdrew his whole force, and left his camp thesolitude which, to their amazement, the French captain and the Englishsquire found it when they entered.
Nor, in truth, did Collingham very much regret the necessity under whichhe was of leaving the place associated with so many daring deeds. By thetime, indeed, that he was menaced by Eveille-chiens and Hornmouth incompany, he had received intelligence that Pembroke was preparing torenew the war in the heart of England, and he had resolved that hisraven banner should flutter in the conflicts likely to ensue. The knightwas eager, indeed, to take part in the opening war, and to give his aidto the royal cause where it was likely to be of most value.
However, Collingham resolved not to stake all upon the cast which wasabout to be made. He therefore divided his force into two bodies. One ofthem he left to harass the French garrisons in Sussex; at the head ofthe other he marched right northward, and, keeping to the woods andunfrequented places, so as to avoid coming in contact with the foreignand Anglo-Norman soldiers who held towns and castles for Prince Louis,he contrived, after many days’ journey, to reach the neighbourhood ofLincoln in the very nick of time--in fact, on the evening of Friday inWhitsuntide, when Pembroke and the king reached Stowe; and, learningthat the protector intended on the morrow, without fail, to march uponthe foe, Collingham halted and encamped on the verge of a wood to thenorth of the city, that his men might rest from their fatigue, and be inreadiness and the best condition to join the royalist army on its marchfrom Stowe. All were in strong health and spirits. None of the braveband were very magnificently arrayed; many of them, in truth, werealmost in rags. But most of them were armed with bows or crossbows andshort swords, and a few, like Oliver Icingla, had axes and shields. Asfor Collingham, he had a long sword, and that terrible iron club whichhad often served him well in times of need, and which on the morrow waslikely to do its work thoroughly.
All went well with the bold yeomen and foresters, and with theirleaders, who well-nigh twelve months earlier had vowed never to sleepunder a roof till England was cleared of the invaders, and who rigidlykept their word. Under the May moon they reposed tranquilly tilldaybreak, and, having then risen and refreshed themselves with food,they awaited the approach of Pembroke and the army that was about to dobattle for England.
And right glad at that crisis was the great Protector to have such anaddition to his force, and infinite was the curiosity of nobles andknights and fighting men to see the rough and ragged warriors who, as“Collingham’s ravens,” had been celebrated in town and hamlet as theterror of the invaders. But none were more curious on the subject thanthe knights and squires of the Earl of Salisbury, who gasped and staredat the sight of Oliver Icingla--in other days, when at Salisbury, and inSpain and Flanders, the pink of youthful chivalry in his dress andequipments--with his shaggy beard, his tattered white jacket, and hisbattle-axe, so antique in appearance that one of Salisbury’s knightsasked laughingly if it had been wielded by some of the Icinglas who werecomrades of Hengist or of Cerdic.
However, the warriors who excited so much curiosity, and, it must beadded, some ridicule, had a pride of their own, and felt a kind ofsatisfaction which few even in Pembroke’s army could know. When loyalearls and barons were submitting to the invaders, they had treated theinvaders with defiance; they had attacked Prince Louis himself, andforced him to make an undignified flight to his ships--the first roughtreatment he experienced in England--and, through good and evil reports,they had adhered to the cause of England and England’s king, enduringall hardships and despising all odds.
Verily such things might well make Collingham’s band a little proudunder the circumstances; and proud they felt of their fidelity and theirexploits as they marched towards Lincoln, their raven banner flutteringand their stalwart chief towering in front like some giant Dane of thedays of Canute. Nor was Oliver Icingla idle. He was still much under theinfluence of his strange dream in the Sussex forest, for, like most ofhis race, he had the element of superstition largely in his composition,and considered dreams and omens too serious to be disregarded. This madehim all the more joyous to go into battle, if only for change andexcitement, moving from front to rear, talking pithily to all the men,stimulating their enthusiasm, and firing their courage and patriotism.
“Englishmen and freemen,” so ran the words of the heir of the Icinglas,“remember your vows as the hour of battle approaches; for a battle therewill be, strong and obstinate, albeit not so bloody as some that havebeen fought on English soil; and that the men whom you are going toencounter are aliens and oppressors. So strike and spare not! Spareneither French count nor Norman baron! This is no day for daintychivalry, as when a feudal sovereign takes the field against arefractory vassal about some petty dispute, to exchange a few blows,without inflicting a wound, and then feast together in the hall of thenearest castle or abbey, as if nothing had happened. This is, in truth,a very different kind of war. It is a war of Englishmen against foreigninvaders--a war of true and loyal men against false men and traitors--awar for our homes which they have burned, and our hearths which theyhave rendered desolate. Wherefore I say to you, smite and spare not!Down with every ruffian Frank who crosses your path, and down, down withthe traitors who invited the ruffian Franks hither! I myself will notfail, if opportunity serve me, to show you in this an example such as anIcingla should show to Englishmen fighting for their country, and mayGod and good St. Edward aid us in doing battle for our young king andour ancient rights!”
And as the boy-warrior thus spoke, on with Pembroke’s army Collingham’sband moved steadily and courageously till they reached the north gate ofLincoln, and stood, straining impatiently, like greyhounds in the leash,in their anxiety to enter and close, foot to foot and hand to hand, withforeign invaders and Anglo-Norman oppressors.
Meanwhile, under the auspices of Falco, a movement was taking placewhich caused within the walls of the city that yell which announced thatthe carnage had begun.