“Curate, ut splendor meo sit clypeo clarior,
Quam solis radii esse olim, quum sudum ’st, solent:
Ut, ubi usus veniat, contra conserta manu,
Præstringat oculorum aciem in acie hostibus.”
Plautus.
The Duke of Normandy was a bold man, and was not disposed to attempt any thing that he was not prepared to pursue to the end. He knew that Harold, with the power of England at his disposal, was no despicable enemy, and he resolved to fortify his cause in every possible way. The sea was to him an object of great dread, as he knew it would be to his followers. “If,” he said, “he could attack and punish them without crossing the sea, he would willingly have done so; but he would rather cross the sea than not revenge himself and pursue his right.”
William sent messengers to Harold demanding the crown, and reminding him of his oath. He would not have done this had he lost any time by it. Harold’s reply was worthy of a constitutional monarch. “It is true that I took an oath to William; but I took it under constraint. I promised what did not belong to me; a promise which I could not in any way perform. My royal authority is not my own; I could not lay it down against the will of my country; nor can I, against the will of the country, take a foreign wife.”[69] William referred the case to the Pope. Harold, conscious that he was acting inconsistently with his oath, fearing that the cause would not be impartially heard, or not choosing to submit the destinies of England to the decision of a foreigner, made no appeal to the Holy Father. The result of William’s application was, that the Pope “granted his request, and sent him a gonfanon, and a very precious, rich, and fair ring, which, he said, had under the stone one of St. Peter’s hairs. With these tokens he commanded, and in God’s name granted to him, that he should conquer England, and hold it of St. Peter.”[70]
William, however, relied neither upon the tenderness of Harold’s conscience nor upon the Pope’s sense of justice—he looked mainly to his barons and retainers. He summoned all who owed him suit and service to meet him in his castle at Lillebone. He there opened to them his design of invading England, and urged them to double for this occasion the amount of their usual contributions of men and money. The account given of this meeting affords us a good idea of the noisy nature of the parliaments of that day—a feature which they still occasionally exhibit. “They remained long in council, and the debate lasted a great while; for they hesitated long among themselves what they should say, what answer they should give, and what aid they would afford. They complained much to each other, saying that they had been often aggrieved; and they murmured much, conferring together in small parties; here five, there fifteen, here forty, there thirty, sixty, a hundred. Some said they feared the sea, and were not bound to serve beyond it. Some said they were willing to bring ships and cross the sea with the Duke; others said that they would not go, for they owed much, and were poor. Some would, others would not, and there was great contention among them.”
William on this occasion acted upon his usual maxim, “divide and conquer.” He dealt privately with such as he was most likely to influence, and having induced them to enter zealously into his plans, others were led by shame or sympathy to follow. He was lavish of his promises. To the barons he proffered numerous manors, to the clerks he held out the bait of rich benefices; to these who were amorously inclined he promised wives with ample dowries; to such as were not to be allured by prospective advantages he gave at once large sums of money. It is said that he offered much more than he could possibly perform; for he was well aware that the Saxon battle-axes would cancel many of his bonds. Meanwhile the Pope’s sanction of the scheme arrived in Normandy, and it inspired the invading hosts with fresh zeal. “The Duke rejoiced greatly at receiving the gonfanon, and the license which the Apostle [Pope] gave him. He got together carpenters, smiths, and other workmen; so that great stir was seen in all the ports of Normandy, in the collecting of wood and materials, cutting of planks, framing of ships and boats, stretching sails, and rearing masts, with great pains and at great cost. They spent all one summer and autumn in fitting up the fleet and collecting the forces; and there was no knight in the land, no good serjeant, archer, nor peasant of stout heart, and of age for battle, that the Duke did not summon to go with him to England.”
The Tapestry represents these preparations. In the compartment which we last noticed William is accompanied by his half-brother Odo, who is busily employed in issuing orders to the master carpenter. This functionary holds a peculiarly shaped axe in his hand, of which there are some examples in the illustrations to Cædmon’s Paraphrase. The superscription is, HIC WILLELM DUX JUSSIT NAVES EDIFICARE—Here Duke William issues orders for the building of ships.
Next we see the execution of the orders. Trees are being felled, and the planks prepared. Presently the ships have assumed their proper shape, and then we see them being drawn down to the shore. This operation is effected by means of a rope passed through a pulley inserted in a post driven into the shore below the water mark. The legend is HIC TRAHUNT NAVES AD MARE—Here they draw the vessels to the sea. Afterwards the stores and ammunition are taken on board, and when all is ready the horses and troops embark.
This may be a fitting place in which to introduce some observations upon the ships and armour of the Normans.
The vessels of this period were of small burden. This is proved by the fact that they were drawn down to the sea, after being built, in the manner shown in the Tapestry. The Domesday Book establishes the same thing. There we find it stated that Dover and Sandwich (and probably the other Cinque Ports also) were severally