The Cunning of the Dove by Alfred Duggan

Author:Alfred Duggan [Duggan, Alfred]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2012-07-18T23:00:00+00:00

On the next day, the 14th of September, the pirates rowed under London Bridge, hugging the south bank of the river to avoid our arrows. Godwin landed at Southwark, and fixed his headquarters in his own hall by the riverbank, whence he had fled a year ago. The levies of Kent and the South Saxons joined him as soon as he was ashore. Then the Frisian ships rowed across the river to attack the English fleet anchored off London. The peasants who manned the King’s ships were no match for veteran pirates, and to prevent a useless slaughter of loyal Englishmen the King signalled for a parley.

The Council met next morning. In the evening it was proclaimed that Earl Godwin had answered all the charges brought against him, clearing himself by his own oath and the oaths of his helpers; therefore he was to be inlawed and granted the full friendship of the King, and the lands and offices of all the Godwinssons were to be returned to them. Furthermore, since the King had been led to persecute this innocent man by the advice of evil counsellors, those evil counsellors, and especially the Norman Bishops, must immediately go into exile. Peace was now secure throughout the land, and every warrior should go at once to his own home.

Robert of Canterbury, Ulf of Dorchester, William of London, all Norman Bishops, fled in a small boat that very night. They feared that the King would be unable to protect them for the legal five days of grace granted them to gather their goods.

In the evening the King told me to make a bundle of his weapons and mail and take it to Hugolin the treasurer. ‘That axe is a work of art,’ said he, ‘and so is the helmet. They are too good to throw away, but I shall never again need them. In future if there is fighting to be done Godwin will do it for me. I have done my duty, at Sandwich and here in London; but either we failed to find the pirates or when we had found them the army wouldn’t fight. Has there ever been such an unlucky King? But this is my fate, and I must make the best of it.’

When he was in bed he went on talking to himself.

‘I must fetch the Lady from her convent. Poor girl, I was hard on her, but what else could I do? You can’t have a Lady ruling at court while all her kin are outlaws. No, I can face Edith. The real trouble will be sitting with Godwin in Council. He must rule the country, since he is so strong that I can’t prevent him; but must I talk to him by the hour? I must, at least when I wear my crown to discuss affairs of state. Well, I shall cut the Christmas feasting as short as possible, and perhaps in these troubled days Godwin will be too busy to come to Gloucester.’

He was silent for so long that I thought he had gone to sleep.

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