Duke William enters negotiations
with the Saxons
William's only
chance of safety lay in bringing on a general engagement; and
he joyfully advanced his army from their camp on the hill over
Hastings, nearer to the Saxon position at Senlac. But he
neglected no means of weakening his opponent, and renewed his
summonses and demands on Harold with an ostentatious air of
sanctity and moderation.
"A monk, named Hugues Maigrot, came in William's name to call
upon the Saxon King to do one of three things:
-
either to resign
his royalty in favor of William
-
to refer it to the
arbitration of the Pope to decide which of the two ought to
be king
-
or let it be
determined by the issue of a single combat
Harold abruptly
replied, 'I will not resign my title, I will not refer it to
the Pope, nor will I accept the single combat". Harold was far
from being deficient in bravery; but he was no more at liberty
to stake the crown, which he had received from a whole people,
in the chance of a duel than to deposit it in the hands of an
Italian priest.
William, not at
all ruffled by the Saxon's refusal, but steadily pursuing the
course of his calculated measures, sent the Norman monk again,
after giving him these instructions: "Go and tell Harold that
if he will keep his former compact with me, I will leave to
him all the country which is beyond the Humber, and will give
his brother Gurth all the lands which Godwin held. If he still
persist in refusing my offers, then thou shalt tell him,
before all his people, that he is a perjurer and a liar; that
he and all who shall support him are excommunicated by the
mouth of the Pope, and that the bull to that effect is in my
hands."
Hugues Maigrot delivered this message in a solemn tone and the
Norman chronicle says that at the word "excommunication" the
English chiefs looked at one another as if some great danger
were impending. One of them then spoke as follows:
"We must fight, whatever may be the danger to us; for what we
have to consider is not whether we shall accept and receive a
new lord, as if our king were dead; the case is quite
otherwise. The Norman has given our lands to his captains, to
his knights, to all his people, the greater part of whom have
already done homage to him for them: they will all look for
their gift if their duke become our king; and he himself is
bound to deliver up to them our goods, our wives, and our
daughters: all is promised to them beforehand.
They come, not only to ruin us, but to ruin our descendants
also, and to take from us the country of our ancestors. And
what shall we do? Whither shall we go, when we have no longer
a country?"
The English
promised, by a unanimous oath, to make neither peace nor truce
nor treaty with the invader, but to die or drive away the
Normans.
The 13th of October was occupied in these negotiations, and at
night the Duke announced to his men that the next day would be
the day of battle. That night is said to have been passed by
the two armies in very different manners.
The Saxon soldiers spent it in joviality, singing their
national songs, and draining huge horns of ale and wine round
their campfires.
The Normans, when they had looked to their arms and horses,
confessed themselves to the priests, with whom their camp was
thronged, and received the sacrament by thousands at a time.
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