Tales After the Crusade
by NorseThing
Chapter 1.1
Bandits!
King Philip the Chivalrous is in Rheims reviewing the local tax collections. He is an honored guest in the governor's town home.
This home is within a protected compound that does a double duty as the local town hall and administrative center. He often does his Kingly duties away from his beloved Bertrada. It has been a decade since he made the public distancing from Bertrada, but their relationship continues discreatly from the prying eyes of the clergy. Their love may not be secret and certainly the results are not secret. There is no need to make it blatant though and suffer the religious consequences of such a relationship. This public distancing allowed the embarrassing excommuniction from the church two decades ago by no less than Pope Urban II to lapse and thus be in better relations with the church. [1]
The regular counting was not unusual for any noble that had toll revenues from roads and rivers. There were other miscelaneous sources of income from the proceeds of royal lands. Why -- he knew that even the Dukes and Counts of various portions of his dominion had much the same problems. When you have people handling your money out of site, a formal and regular counting is needed. It was always a good policy to know your people personally and to know your finances.
Fortune did shine upon Philip though. There was always a diversion or two available within the court when traveling. The entourage was large as befitting the importance of so great a person as the king of France. There were the fellow hunters who also liked gambling and card playing to pass the time. The usual courtiers and hangers on seemed to always be present as well. Of necessity there were the usual stewards, cooks, maids, and many others that were essential to be present while away or at home. Then of course there was always the military garrision to escort all of these people safely from destination to destination and to assure the safety of the King in these uncertain times. To fit a diversion or two within such a huge party and remain discreet while on the move was not beyond the capabilities of his personal steward. This was a tradition dating back at least a milenium into the days of Rome. Yes -- the days of the Caesars and of the Tribunes for business travel. A tradition that could be expected to still be a part of business travel even a millenium or more into the future.
The essentials for a monarch no matter where the monarch resides for even a single day or night must be maintained. It is always good to know that his nobles will do what is expected to please the king and cover the costs of such an entourage. The governor of Rheims seemed to be such a person, though the toll revenues seemed to be down for no apparant reason. [2]
A currier has arrived. Out of breath, but wanting an immediate audiance with the king.
"Your! ... Highness! ", he gasped.
"Calm down, young man. Surely the news you bring can wait for a breath or two" said the king.
"A small band of men have been spotted near a bridge crossing the Seine river. This is upstream but really near Paris. At the moment it has been reported as simple banditry. The peasants are terrified for their safety and the safety of their families." said the young man. He is clearly tired but now much more in control of himself.
He then added, "Is there any message you may wish for the acting governor in Paris?"
The king thought for a moment, or perhaps for a couple of moments. He then responded by addressing a courtier beside him -- "Give this young man a good meal and provide him with a suitable mount to make his return journey quicker and safer."
The courtier then motioned for the young man to follow a young solider. Both the young man and the soldier headed towards the kitchen.
The King then addressed the royal scribe: "Take down a brief note to my son-in-law, the Parisan governor. [3] Briefly sum up what you have heard from the young man. He may be from Paris, but perhaps not from my nephew. Perhaps he is from the garrision commader. He was in uniform. Perhaps he is one of our young officer cadets from a noble family and in our service. He was eager to inform. Not that the nobility in Paris would not inform me, but this report shows more concern for the peasants than I would expect for message sent from Laurant, the acting governor. I doubt Laurant knows or maybe does not concern himself with peasant affairs. Then add to that note that I am sending my son with a very small militia escort to look over the situation. Give him all the support he needs to settle this matter of bandits on bridges. In addition to terrifying the local peasants this banditry will hurt our realm's toll revenues. A man who hurts the toll revenues hurts his king."
The scribe then completed the message with the usual more polite wording:
His royal magesty, King Phillip the Chivalrous, King of France commands the Royal Governor of Paris to read this message and to take immediate steps to please his Highness:
A small band of men have been spotted near a bridge crossing the Seine river upstream from Paris. I am sending my young son with a modest militia escort to look over the situation. Give him all the support he needs to settle this matter of bandits on bridges. This banditry will hurt our realm's toll revenues. Any man who hurts the toll revenues personally hurts his king. [4]
by the authority of his highness
Philip
The document was then carefully folded and sealed with wax. The royal seal was then fixed to the the document and sent by aide to the young man. The scribe never once thought that Philip should review the document or actually personally affix the seal. This was the usual practice and all the court knew who had the seal and who did the writing and sending. A good system when it worked, and a system that gave every noble an out when the system broke down.
A mount was prepared and the young man was sent to Paris with the message.
The next day Philip had a private audiance with his 14 year old son, Fleury. [5]
"I want you to take your bodyguard of knights and a company of militia out to the reported bridge crossing and take what actions are needed to put down this banditry. You should be meeting up with some support from Paris. What that support is I do not know. Use it as you see fit. You go with the blessings of your father. This is an important mission, not just to deal with the bandits, to to also assess the quality of support for the king in the people and with the nobles residing within the safe walls of Paris."
Fleury responds, "Yes father. I will gladly do what you ask."
Fleury knew that this was a perfect opportunity to prove his worth. The other members of the court refer to him as the bastard behind his back. This was not the case with his oler brother. They both had the same parents. It is true that he is a bastard son, but he knows his father loves him and has tried as much as the royal house could do to give him a good start in life with money and responsibilities. The money could buy some property, but not enough to purchase a title of value.
He knew he was not the heir an would never be the heir because of the misfortune between his father and the clergy. Some say that his father had abducted a married woman because he fancied her. Maybe. Maybe there was more to the story. Fleury and the rest of the family did not know nor cared to know.
The matter may be small, but it was important to his father. Not just dealing with bandits, that was minor. He then called his knights to mount up and be prepared to go into the fields to support their king. A company of militia spears accompanied them on the road towards Paris.
A two days journey down the road -- a fork in the road appears in the distance. A band of men are seen.
Could this be the bandits his father spoke of? He then asked a knight, "Ride ahead. Look and see what these men are about. If you think it safe, announce your presence. Determine whether they will act as friends to the King or act as bandits in defiance of our realm."
"Yes, sire! I will head out and determine our foes and their intentions."
He rode off with two other knights and approached the men.
"Fellow countrymen! I bring you greetings from Lord Fleury, the noble son of our chivalrous King Philip. What is your business here on this lonely country road?"
A man who seemed to be in command of the company of spearmen answered, "I am Captain Renaud."
The empasis on the rank seemed important to the man. He continued, "We are a small band of men no longer in the employ of our late departed lord, the Count Stephen de Blois. He left on Crusade for our King Phillip and for our late and beloved Pope Clement. Upon the end of the Crusade he had returned to his wife's Norman lands in England. He has since died. The current lord, CountTheobald IV, does not seem to need our services. We have left the county of Blois in search of some support in keeping with our responsabilities to our King."[6]
The knight representing Lord Fleury then responded, "We have heard reports of bandits that are disrupting our toll road and the transport of goods to Paris. Again, what do you state your goals to be?" The knight's voice had boomed over the distance separating the knight from the spearmen. This was a voice of authority that was used to getting prompt and correct answers.
Captain Renaud, now a bit nervous, then responded with careful words. "We have seen others on the road, but not towards Paris. On the road from Paris towards Clermont -- we did see such men. We avoided conflict so we did not speak with them. We did not think them to be bandits or we would have acted."
The knight then responded, "Lord Fleury, the son of our King requests that you bring us to these men. Help us to settle the toll road problems. Help us to help the King. We must restore the flow of the wagons and the merchants heading to Paris. Wr must restore the tolls to the king's purse."
"We are happy to serve our king. His smallest wish is our command." So said the commander of the spearmen.
"Good, wait here and Lord Fleury and his men will join up with you. Together we will settle this matter of the toll road," said the knight. He and the other two knights then rode off to rejoin the knights with Lord Fleury. The knight then reported to Lord Fleury what had transpired. Together Lord Fleury and all the men then proceeded to join up with the spearmen and took the fork south towards the Seine river. The pact with the spearmen probably made the militia uneasy, but nothing was said to Lord Fluery or the knights. Nobles often make the peasants nervous, but they also know their place is in service to the King first and to other nobility as demanded. Lord Fleury has made his wishes known. Tonight the peasant militia will bed down with the unknown spearmen hoping for the best.
[1] This excommunication was a terrible rift between the crown and the church. Philip could not participate in the Crusade of 1095 - 1099 even though the Crusade was called by a French Pope at the Council of Clermont. This was the very same public forum tht was used to issue the excommuniction. Very bad. Very embaressing. The Normans were quick to take advantage of this and particpated as a 'French' army in name only in the Crusade. This Norman 'French' army will be explored more when The House Divided AAR is published
[2] Of course Phillip is paying for the entourage. It is paid via the corruption to the governor of Rheims and then to support the party put on by the governor to support the King's visits. Everyone knows this so there is no need to make big deal about the 'lost' revenues. King Phillip is not a fool. Of course there is always a little extra skimmed off for the governor's troubles as well. This is the very essence of the problem when corruption is allowed. Everyone wants a cut.
[3] Laurant was current the acting governor of Paris. He was married to King Philip's daughter -- the very diplomatic Constance. The marriage was perhaps not the best for Constance, but it was a good marriage for the crown. Philip is the crown. The younger genertion are all his children so naturally Laurant is his 'nephew' even though he is actually his son-in-law. A better relationship prehaps. It does avoid the xxx-in-law jokes.
[4] Notice among the differances between the document and speech of the king -- " Any man who hurts the toll revenues personally hurts his king." Will this come back to haunt a noble in the future? This was not the intent of King Philip, but this document is now the official voice of King Phillip.
[5] Yes, a 14 year old is a man in this era. Fleury has in his name all the authority to act in the king's name. An awesome responsability for any man at any age whether the responsability is by title, position, or blood relation.
[6] Count de Blois did leave, but not at the end of the Crusade. He left during the seige of Antioch. Upon his early and unexpected return his wife verbally chased him out of the castle and told him in no uncertain terms, 'Take your buddies and get out there and do what you have given an oath to your Pope that you would do!' His wife Adela or perhaps Stephen would make a great short tale. (Perhaps a hint at a coming attraction.) However, the important question here: Is the captain telling the whole truth? Did they come directly from the county of Blois or did they leave from the Crusade? Are they the bandits?
Tales After the Crusade - a collection of shorter tales
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