Homelands
Chapter One: The Trials of Morcar
Part 3
Prelude:
The English Civil war of 1067 was a long and drawn out war. With sides constantly shifting and power shifting from Lancaster in the Saxon-controlled region and Canterbury, the capital William de Normandie’s England. In 1070 France re-committed to the cause of William and his heirs, sending some 10,000 soldiers northward. It struck the death-knell for the Saxons and their cause, but it would prove to bring lasting stability back to the Isles. Morcar the Exile attempted one last push to retake Northumbria, but it was for naught. His brother Edwin fled to Scotland, and later to Denmark. The last Saxon Earl surrendered in 1072 and assumed a life of exile in Norway. Many lesser nobles headed to Marienscír in order to take advantage of the relative stability and wealth of the small Saxon enclave.
June 3rd, 1071
Some 8,000 Prussian and Saxon soldiers sailed ashore at East Anglia. They were under the command of Aethelstan of Durham, who had commanded the Prussian divisions during the wars against Sambia and Sagomitia. He had led the successful attacks against the Sambians and helped found Cyningscír after the original settlement was burned by the attacking pagans. The Saxon Earls were unhappy when they found that Morcar had not come himself. Edwin, Morcar’s brother and Earl of Mercia, confronted Aethelstan.
“Where is my brother?”
“You brother has taken ill, and regrettably cannot participate in the campaign at the current time.”
“My brother dares send a lacky to do his work?”
“I do not appreciate being downgraded to a lacky. I have served honorably and victoriously for your brother, and I shall do the same here. Now, how do we stand?”
“We have 15,000 to their 10,000.”
“Those are good odds; we march to meet the Normans tomorrow.”
“I am in command here! I say we march north, and forget an attack on Essex!”
“I don’t care what you do, we Prussians are marching tomorrow to meet the Normans.”
And so it was, Edwin’s army marched north and the following day Aethelstan and Morcar’s troops marched west to attack the 10,000 Normans guarding the capital of East Anglia. The resulting battle of Norfolk left 3,000 Normans dead as the Prussians attacked during the night, burning much of the city to the ground. The Normans retreated to Essex with the Prussians on their heels. At the city of London, the 7,000 surviving Normans met up with Phillip’s army from France. The Franco-Norman army of almost 20,000 quickly dispatched Aethelstan and his Prussians. From London the Prussians marched to Northampton where they were beaten again. Morale within the Saxon armies was falling quickly, so Aethelstan marched east where it met a small detachment of William’s Army on the Ouse River. The resulting battle there was short and lead to a solid victory, recovering the sinking morale of the Saxon armies.
Aethelstan marched west, following the detachment back to William’s army. At Nottingham Aethelstan met with William de Normandie, King of England.
“Saxon, you come from nowhere and attempt to sack my capital. Your army runs rampant through my country side salting the land and stampeding the cattle. Why do you do these things to my land?”
“Your land? This is no land of yours. You come here seeking fame and glory and power and all those things that can never make up for your status as a bastard. This is my land. I was born here. My father was born here. My father’s father was born here. I have tilled these fields: My sons were born in these cities. This is my land. This is Saxon land.”
“You insult my name!”
“Your name is already an insult where I come from.”
The two men departed and waged battle the next day. 6,000 Prussians fought 8,000 Normans, and the Prussians won. William fled the battle as his army scattered and rode west with the Prussians following him. In September of 1071 Aethelstan and William met again, only now the Norman had met up with another army and the French. The combined army of William was almost 20,000 strong. Aethelstan and the few allies he was able to gather numbered 12,000. The battle of Shrewsbury lasted five days. Each day saw a different victor emerge from the carnage, but in the end the Saxons did not have the man power, and they retreated north to York.
The battles for England, yellow shows a victory and red shows a loss.
The Normans followed Aethelstan all the way back to York, and laid siege to the tiny city Kingdom. Aethelstan saw the day was lost, and saw fit to spare the lives of his men and the citizens of York. He surrendered to William on December 13th, 1071 and on January 1st, 1072 Morcar surrendered all of his land and titles to William the Conqueror. William was reported on commenting:
“I had no idea where they sailed too and where they sailed from to return. But I did watch them sail away a second time, and I saw in their eyes not defeat but almost… relief. As if I had cut some cord attaching them to the uterus of England. They were free that day, and I saw it in their face. They had lost the war but had won their freedom. This is what confuses me about Morcar and his Saxons.”