491 – All Hats On Deck

My name is Jamie and this is episode All hats on deck. This show is ad free due to member support and as a way of Members for keeping the show independent. Including extra Transcripts and you can get instant access to all the members expanded. For about the price of a latte per month, and thank you very much to Eric.

Duke Robert Kurthose was back in Normandy, having reclaimed the duchy unopposed, and now he was looking to assert his claim on England. But obviously he wasn't gonna be able to do this unopposed. He would definitely need help. So this meant providing gifts to powerful but wavering nobles like Robert of Balemme in order to secure their support.

And also promising them that they'd get even more stuff after he became king, and of course, installing loyalists into strategically important castles and other positions, in case any of this comes blowing back upon him. Recently, he'd also welcomed the fugitive Bishop Flambard into his court as an advisor. And actually, even Robert's non-political actions begin pointing towards an imminent campaign for England.

For example, during this same time, the Duke undertook a pilgrimage to Mont Saint Michel. And if you were a Norman duke who was seeking to keep your zealous nobles in line by capitalizing on the cultural cachet that you gained by being a victorious crusader, well a pilgrimage of this type was politically brilliant. Especially if you're about to face off with your baby brother Henry, who never took the cross and was instead famous for his lechery.

So, watching all of this from across the channel, King Henry was probably getting a little nervous. And rightly so. Though, Orderic disagreed. Yeah, he's not impressed with any of this. For example, those land grants, that was just Robert being bad with money. And as for Flambard, that's just Robert being gullible. And that pilgrimage? Oh, that wasn't political. It wasn't even piety. No, that was just because Robert's lazy. Yes, pilgrimage is a sign of laziness, says the Benedictine monk.

Sometimes Ordoric is absolutely incredible. But while Ordoric thinks everything that Robert does is absolutely stupid and ridiculous, King Henry was taking it much more seriously. Because he was in a very tight spot. I mean, he had forced his way onto the throne, and generally that's an unpopular move which can result in widespread unrest.

So Henry's situation in 1101 was already tenuous, and that's without the threat of a Norman invasion led by his brother. Now, typically, in moments like these, Henry would rely on his ally. If you recall, one of the things that made Henry such a durable force in Normandy. The thing that enabled him to weather pretty much any storm, even when his schemes collapsed and his brothers were out for his blood, was his uncanny ability to gather friends and supporters.

But these days, he wasn't exactly Mr. Popular. Folks were talking trash, giving him mean nicknames, and openly backing out of their own. Meanwhile, clergy from both Normandy and England were carrying complaints about him to the Pope. And speaking of clergy, there was also that one extremely inconvenient bishop who had just escaped from prison thanks to a group of conspirators within his own kingdom, and now that bishop was backing his rival.

So Henry's approval rating was clearly underwater, and worse, everyone could see it. So this would need to be fixed. And his recent marriage had been a smart move, but it hadn't solved all of his political problems.

Henry would need to find other ways to build new friendships and alliances. And to that end, he had been hard at work building a strategic partnership with Flanders. Now, as you might remember, when William had decided to seize the English throne, he had reached out to his in laws in Flanders for help. And Count Baldwin V had agreed to provide William with advice and military support in exchange for three hundred silver marks per year.

And this deal had worked out great for him, which is why he's known as William the Conqueror and not William the Debtor. Well, Henry appears to have taken a page out of his dad's playbook, because he had also reached out to the Count of Flanders. Now, obviously, Count Baldwin V was long dead, so now it was his grandson who was ruling Flanders.

His name was Count Robert, and actually he was also Henry's cousin. And Henry knew that Count Robert would be open to the idea of another military partnership. Because Rufus had brokered a similar deal with Account during his time on the throne. So, at some point, Henry reached out. I'm not sure precisely when, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was shortly after his coronation. And by spring, the pieces were falling into place.

Count Robert of Flanders sailed to England to meet with Henry, and he finalized the deal at Dover on march tenth of eleven oh one. It was agreed that the count would provide one thousand knights for any conflicts in England or Normandy. and five hundred knights for any conflicts in Maine. In exchange, Henry would pay Count Robert 500 pounds every year. And Orderic absolutely loved that Henry struck this deal.

He thought it was sheer genius, and definitely not a waste of resources like what Robert was doing across the channel. And the best part of that is that despite the expense, and despite the amount of effort put into it, and despite all the praise from ordering, It doesn't appear that those very expensive Flemish knights ever got involved in the conflict.

It seems like they all stayed home. Now, it's not clear whether Henry was bamboozled or if he just didn't trust Flanders enough to call up their soldiers. It's even possible that he struck this deal simply because he wanted to lock up Flanders before his brother could.

Sort of like how some unscrupulous people will consult with all the best divorce lawyers in the area before announcing that they want a divorce, you know, in an effort to prevent their soon-to-be ex from getting good representation.

But whatever the original plan was, and despite the price tag, no Flemish knights would be involved in what's to come. Meanwhile, in Normandy, Duke Robert was meeting with Ranolph Lombard, and they were preparing for war. And you know, I know, Orderic has another take about what Robert was up to, but other accounts like Malmesbury make it very clear that the Duke was on the move.

And actually, even Orderick can't help but give the game away, because in the very next breath, he admits that Robert's agents were bribing English soldiers to get them to switch sides. Why? Because Robert was building an invasion fleet, and he needed good intel on where to land and where Henry was likely to set his defenses. Back in England, King Henry had no shortage of problems. But, like any good strategist, he didn't panic.

He just started solving them. You start with the biggest, and then you work your way down the list. And Henry's biggest problem was legitimacy. Those mean nicknames were getting out of hand, not to mention the wavering loyalties of his bearings. So, on the 21st of April of 1101, Easter Sunday, Henry had a bunch of the most important men of England gather at Winchester. And once they were all together, he made them all watch him and Queen Matilda wear their crown.

Yeah. Functionally, what this was was a hat wearing party. Two people put on hats, everyone stares, and history happens. Wow. But culturally and symbolically, this Easter crown wearing at Winchester was actually huge. Henry was tapping into tradition, ritual, and the sheer belief, both religious and secular, that power wasn't taken. It was sanctioned. So with this ceremony, Henry wasn't reminding everyone that he could wear a hat.

He was reminding everyone that God put him on the throne. Not an arrow to the chest, not an argument at a treasury. No, God did it. Meanwhile, in Normandy, Duke Robert's hiring of sailors was ongoing, and he was having them assemble at La Tripore.

Why La Tripur? Well, it was a harbor that was conveniently close to Rwan, but more importantly, it was close to England. Back in England, Henry was still diligently tackling one problem after another. And this next one was pretty big. It was a problem that had a reputation for creating a whole bunch of other problems anytime he was unhappy. And it was a problem that could create brand new legitimacy problems if he chose to. I am, of course, referring to Ansel.

Yeah, if Anselm turns on you, you're in deep trouble. So, according to Edmer, Henry went all in on bringing the Archbishop on board. The king did a full blown charm offensive, promising Anselm everything he wanted. Those ecclesiastical policies you've been writing about, they're yours. Governance. Same deal. That whole controversy about lay investiture and clerical homage, it's done. I'll relinquish all rights to it unless the Pope grants me a waiver. Do you want anything else?

A pony? A back rub? Don't be shy, Anselm. Just tell me. And sure, these promises might create problems for Henry later on, but the threat of Normandy and his legitimacy crisis were acute issues for him, so they needed to be dealt with right now. Then, if Henry survived all of this, well, future Henry could figure out what to do about Anselm and all of these promises. But survival first.

Now, unfortunately, there's no way of knowing if Anselm trusted Henry, or he just decided that the risk was worth the potential benefit. Either way, though, in the face of all these promises, he sided with the crown and started working on bolstering the king's grip on power.

The next on Henry's to-do list was trimming the remnants of Rufus' regime. Specifically Ranolf Lambard. One of the biggest arguments that Henry made in promoting his rule was that he would put a stop to all the abuse and corruption that had plagued the reign of Rufus.

I mean, this was one of the main thrusts of the Charter of Liberties. And if you want the public to believe that your government is reforming things, then there does need to be some sort of reckoning and a re-establishment of law and justice. So obviously, Ranolph Lombard, as the chief counselor of the previous regime, would have to be brought to justice. Honestly, it was the very least that Henry should do.

So, even though Flambard had escaped the tower and joined Duke Robert's court, the Royal Administrative Office was still continuing their investigation into him. Not only that, but Archbishop Anselm was also investigating him. Which honestly doesn't surprise me at all. Ranolph was a major foe of Anselm's, and while my opinion of Anselm isn't super high, he does appear to have been genuinely religious.

And so having a man like Ranolph serving as bishop must have driven Anselm baddie. As for what they were investigating, well, Ranolph had been imprisoned for the medieval version of embezzling in his secular duties. Basically, funds kept on getting lost, only to later turn up in his pockets. And they were also investigating him for malfeasance in his religious duties.

And it seems like whatever evidence they were collecting was damning, because it was very clear that Ranolph was about to be convicted in absentia. Now, this was such a big deal that Anselm actually wrote to the Pope, where he broke down what Ranolph was accused of and asked the Pope what he would like the church to do about it. And the Pope, who had recently been hearing a lot about England from a whole bunch of sources, responded with essentially

Whoa, yeah, that guy sounds like a lot. You know, make your best judgment, and I'll stand by your findings. Then the Pope wrote to Flambard. A short while later, the papal letters arrived in England and Normandy, respectively, and Flambard was probably a bit shocked when he got his letter. I mean getting a letter from the Pope out of the blue would certainly be a surprise.

Now, as you might recall, Orderic tells us that Flambard was, quote, very illiterate, end quote. So if Orteric's jab is true, Flambard probably had someone read out the letter to him. Which must have been awkward as hell, because the Pope was ordering Flambard to get his ass back to England and face the criminal and religious charges. And if he didn't, the Pope would have him defrocked by canon law. That was bad.

Flambard could deal with Henry being mad at him. He could even handle Henry seizing his English properties, because once Robert took the throne of England, all of that could be fixed. But this was the Pope. If the Pope fired Flambard, it didn't matter how the war for England went. He would still be out of a job because Robert was trying to become the King of England, not the Pope.

So Flambard suddenly found himself in a very difficult situation, because his best way out of this mess, if he wanted to still have a career in the church, was to reconcile with Henry. But he was currently planning on attacking Henry. And this attack was definitely happening. They were way too in deep now. I mean, that fleet at La Tripur was getting big enough that people were talking. So yeah. Tricky situation.

Now, all of this letter writing and investigation and politicking takes time. And so, before you knew it, it was June 9th, 1101. Witsun, or for the non Brits among you, Pentacost. And the important thing to know about Witsun is that it's a ritually and symbolic important moment in the medieval calendar. And this celebration couldn't have come at a better time. Because word of Robert's fleet at La Trapore had reached England. And in the face of it, folks were wavering hard.

Think about it this way. Do you remember that confrontation at the Treasury where Henry seized the wealth of the kingdom at sword point and thereby cleared his path to the crown? Well, Bretwei and others had objected, but they weren't willing to die over the English crown. And so Henry became king. Well, now it was looking very much like King Henry was about to ask them to die over this crown. So, yeah, folks were starting to have second thoughts, and I can't blame them.

Consequently, it was clear that Henry was gonna have to pull out all the stops if he was gonna keep this lot in line. So, he decided to hold the Whitson Court at the famous site of St. Albans, and he ordered his nobles to attend. So this meant that he was gathering the most important figures in England at a deeply meaningful location with a rich tradition on a religiously and culturally symbolic day. And then, once everyone was gathered, Henry had them all witness him wearing a crown again.

And then, once they were sufficiently awed by his ability to wear a hat, Henry demanded that they all renew their oaths of fealty. And it seems that the nobles were about as impressed by this as I am, because Edmar reports that Archbishop Anselm had to get involved. And say what you want about Anselm, but this guy understood how to extract what you want out of people who don't want to give it to you. And so, under Anselm's guidance, Henry sweetened the deal.

He promised that if they stuck by him, he would rule the kingdom with just and righteous law. And about right now you're probably thinking, wait, didn't he already promise to do that during his coronation? Wasn't that what the whole Charter of Liberties was about? And yeah, it was. Henry was offering them absolutely nothing new. He was at best saying, If you give me what I want, I'll actually follow through with my previous promises. Which should immediately give people pause.

And maybe it did, because at this same ceremony, Henry then sweetened the deal further, and he did a bit of public law and justice. Remember that investigation into Ranolf Flambard? Well, he announced it had concluded, and that Flambard had failed to clear himself of the charges. So the king was evicting him from the lands that were tied to the bishopric of Durham.

And on top of that, Archbishop Gerard of York was preparing to depose Flambard from the bishopric entirely, which he would do shortly after this meeting. Now, this, like much of Henry's style of rule, served multiple purposes simultaneously. It established his bona fides as a reformer, since Flambard was a famously corrupt official. It stripped one of Robert's allies of lands, which could then be distributed to one of Henry's allies.

And it provided an example to any of Flambard's secret friends and attendants of what awaited them if they defied the king.

And this finally seemed to do the trick. Or at least it brought enough folks in attendance into line, and then peer pressure did the rest. Because now those in attendance didn't look quite as wavering as they did before. But you can't fit all of England into St. Albans. So obviously not everyone was there. But Henry had a solution for that. After Witsun, he sent letters throughout the kingdom confirming the promises that he made during his coronation.

And then he asked the recipients to take an oath to defend England against Duke Robert, and to agree to provide military service all the way through to Christmas Day. And they were ordered to muster the men from their properties. both English and French to this end. Now incredibly, we actually have one of the letters. It was sent to the Bishop of Lincoln, and it was attested to by Anselm, Robert of Moulin, Robert Fitzamon, and Eudas.

So basically Henry's core group. But other barons and other officials received similar letters. The religious figures also were ordered to muster, and Edmar reports that Ansel mustered his forces, as did his underlings, like Gundalf of Rochester. And it's thanks to those religious orders that that we know through the Abingdon Chronicle, that Henry was also demanding full cervicium debitum, meaning full delivery of their feudal duties to provide military forces from his tenants in chief.

This meant there were no exceptions. And if a knight refused service, then the tenant-in-chief, in this case, the abbot, would have to find a replacement. So Henry wasn't just saying bring your boys. He was saying bring no less than the number of nights that I am owed. So if you owed thirty knights and twenty-nine arrived at the mustering field, well I hope you've got your affairs in order, because the king is gonna be taking quite an interest in you.

Another interesting element to these demands for military service was that when Henry sent them out, and when Orderic and others wrote about them, distinctions were made between the Normans and the English. Because England was very much an occupied kingdom, and the ruling Normans didn't for a second think that they were English, nor that the English were their equals or something.

But, despite that split, Henry wasn't letting the English out of this, and so he ordered them to show up as well, which they did in very large numbers. Now, Orderic is incredibly impressed by this, but genuinely here, what else was Unfirth gonna do? The Normans had castles and armies. He had a shovel, so he couldn't exactly say, no, I don't want to do it. So, fields were filling up with men and arms, and officials were checking records and shouting out names and counting heads.

But having troops on the ground was only one part of the defense. The channel couldn't be left undefended, after all. I mean, Henry's best chance of blunting an attack by Robert would be before he even landed. And this was an area where Henry was completely reliant upon the English.

I mean horse bros weren't exactly all that big on ships. Wouldn't want to make glitterhoof seasick. So while the ground forces consisted of large numbers of English commanded over by the Normans, The fleet, which had been tasked with patrolling the coast, was apparently an English only affair.

So, when you imagine the summer of 1101, imagine large numbers of English and Normans mustering in fields all across England. And this was happening very quickly. After all, that fleet at La Tripore was apparently pretty much ready to go. And so when Henry sent out those orders, they weren't be ready. They were get your ass into my army right now. Like, right now.

So, by midsummer, about a fortnight from that initial letter being sent out, Henry already had an army assembled, and he was leading it down to Pevensey Bay. Why Pemensy? Well, if you think all the way back to 1066, that was where William landed during his conquest of England. So Henry might have been assuming that Robert would be pulling from Dad's playbook.

It's also possible that Henry was just using logic. I mean, they knew that Robert's fleet was at Latripor, and if you were in La Tripur, Pevensey is your nearest destination in England. Seems pretty straightforward, and it had the additional benefit of keeping an eye on Pevency, because Pevensey was owned by Count William of Mortain.

who just happened to be the nephew of Robert of Baleme. And in addition to being one of Kurt Hose's guys, that entire line wasn't exactly known for being on the up and up. If something treacherous was about to happen, it's a reasonable guess that the gang from Balem might be involved. Oh, and speaking of treachery, Henry might have also chosen Pevensey because he had spies in Normandy, and so he knew where Robert intended to go.

After all, Henry, Robert, and pretty much all of their allies were Normans. So these guys knew each other. A lot of them were related, and many of them had deep relationships on both sides of the conflict. So honestly, it's hard to imagine a situation that would be easier to infiltrate as a spy. Either way, though, King Henry and his army were encamped at Pevensey, awaiting whatever hell that Duke Robert and the Normans were about to unleash upon them.

And it's at this point that That I start to really like Henry, or at least really get Henry. Because rather than sitting in his tent and plotting, we're told that Henry was marching among his forces and engaging with them personally. And in particular, we're told that he was talking with a lot of the English troops, which formed the bulk of his army. And he was instructing them on how to best withstand a cavalry charge, and how and when to counterattack after that initial crash.

And I find this highly relatable, because I too have that instinct to share knowledge at every possible moment. And I too get anxious whenever I think that people might be doing a thing wrong, and so I try and prevent it in advance. And that appears to be exactly what Henry was up to here. And while what he was doing was smart and mission-driven, it was also thoroughly unappreciated by damn near everyone. Because people do not like unsolicited advice, no matter how well-intentioned it is.

Which actually Henry should have known, because it was exactly this sort of behavior that got people calling him Stagfoot. And so, as they were encamped at Pevensey, and as the days turned into weeks, And the troops had very little to do other than contemplate that they very well might die over a crown that Henry was only wearing because they never wanted to die over it in the first place.

Well, despite Henry's best efforts at cheering folks up with helpful tips and tricks, morale began to tank. Again. And it got so bad that Henry pulled out the big gun. He brought in Archbishop Anselm. According to Edmer, Anselm's support in this moment was critical, and without it, Henry would have certainly lost England right then and there. Apparently, whenever Henry noticed that a noble or other important figure started to look nervous.

Or whenever he worried that some fella might be considering switching sides or deserting, the king had him sent to Anselm, where the Archbishop would then lecture the wavering noble on the importance of loyalty. And he would lecture for as long as it took. And as we know by now, Anselm could talk for ages. So I'm guessing that eventually the nobles in question were all fine, Anselm Fine. I swear I'll stay loyal. Just please stop talking.

And this went on for about a month, because defensive wars are like that. You don't get to pick the moment. You just sit in a field and wait for the moment to pick you. Which must have sucked. But if the anxiety of that waiting started to show on your face, well congratulations, you've just won a private lecture from Anselm, which was probably even worse.

Then, in late July, Duke Robert ran off Lombard, and a whole host of Normans set sail for England. And they weren't headed for pevancy. Not anymore. You see, Ranolph still had friends in England. And even among those who weren't his friends, there were still plenty of people who were friends of his purse. And so Ranolph had learned of Henry's plan to confront the army at Pevensey and force a battle before they could even assemble properly.

And so the Norman fleet altered their course, and they sailed peacefully right past Henry's trap at Pevensey, and continued heading west. they were headed to Portsmouth, a sheltered harbor which had been left completely undefended. It was a massive coup for Ranolph's intelligence operation. But as they sailed, Ranolph was probably actually just quiet. Because he's still

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