The enemy had, meanwhile, been getting into
position to attack. The army of Earl Robert of Gloucester had been marching
from the south, along what is now the A1434. This old Roman road met the equally
ancient road from Peterborough just south of the River Witham, crossing the
river before entering the city beside Thorngate Castle. The city walls here
were quite impassable. They stood some 12 feet tall and were made of stone,
virtually invulnerable defences by the standards of the time even without the
presences of Thorngate. There was no way in there. It had been raining hard
over the past few days, and the River Witham was in flood. If Gloucester veered
east around the city defences he would be unable to cross the river to climb
the hill beyond.
It seems to have been Earl Ranulf who made the
decisive move. As the army approached Lincoln he veered off to the left. This
made sound tactical sense. The main task of the army was to reach Lincoln
Castle and lift the siege. By heading west of the city Ranulf could get to his
fortress by the west gate. No doubt Stephen had already realised this, which
was why he had his army drawn up where he did. All the sources state that the
land on either side of the Fossdyke was marshy and sodden after the recent
heavy rains. Getting across this marsh caused Ranulf and Gloucester
considerable difficulty. The weight of a knight’s armour at this date was
around 60 pounds or so. Although the men were accustomed to wearing such gear
for hours on end, it still weighted them down on boggy ground and when walking
across mud. None of the sources say that the Fossdyke presented any sort of
obstacle at all, so presumably there was a bridge or two to ease the crossing.
Once across the marshy valley bottom,
according to Henry of Huntingdon, there was a pause after crossing the valley
marsh while Ranulf and Gloucester debated how to go about attacking Stephen’s
defensive position. Ranulf wanted to lead the attack himself. “Since it is
through me that you face this battle,” Huntingdon records Ranulf as saying, “it
is fitting that I myself should bear the brunt of it and be foremost in the
attack on this faithless king.”
Robert replied with flattery, and hard-headed
realism. “It is fitting that you should have the honour of striking the first
blow, both on account of your high rank and your exceeding valour. If it were a
question of rank alone, no one has higher pretensioins than myself, the son and
nephew of mighty kings; and for valour there are many here would stand among
the most renowed to whom no man living can be preferred. But I am actuated by
considerations of a very different kind. The king has inhumanly usurped the
crown, and by the disorder he has spread has caused the slaughter of thousands
and by the example he has set of an illegal seizure of lands has destroyed the
rights of property. The first onset ought, therefore, to be made by those he
has disinherited with whom the God of Justice will co-operate and make them
ministers of just punishment.” In other words, Gloucester wanted the first
attack to be made by those who had nothing to lose, who were angriest with the
king and who could therefore be relied upon to fight hardest.
Gloucester then ordered his army ready to attack. from "The Battle of Lincoln" by Rupert Matthews
Buy your copy from your local bookshop or from Amazon
A book dedicated to the Siege of Lincoln that marked a
turning point in the Wars of Anarchy during the reign of King Stephen. A
civil war between King Stephen and his rival Empress Matilda broke out
in 1136. By 1141 England had fallen in to near anarchy with nobles using
the unrest to pursue local feuds, slaughter rivals and pillage each
other's land. In 1141 Stephen moved to capture Lincoln Castle and put
down one such recalcitrant nobleman. While there he was surprised and
attacked by a larger army led by Matilda. The ensuing battle was complex
and confused, but it ended with Stephen utterly defeated - for now.
This book follows the standard pattern set by others in the Bretwalda
Battles series. The reasons for and course of the war in question are
outlined, then detailed analyses of weapons, tactics and strategies are
given with particular reference to this battle. The course of the
battleis then followed, with comment on what there is to see at the site
today. Short biographies of the commanders are also given. The
aftermath of the battle, its effects and importance to the progress of
the war are then described. The "Bretwalda Battles" series has been
running with increasing success as ebooks for some time. Now the first
books in the series are being published in print format.
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