SearchFitt Third
Prologue, The Flight
You mount your horse with Lady Alice,
Flee from Lancaster’s bleak palace.
And speed down Ermine Street.
Behind you, armed knights of Lancaster
Pursue you, galloping ever faster,
But your horse is fleet.
Your mind is racing like your horse,
Because you’re wondering, of course,
How to escape Lancaster’s force:
Maybe a castle – Conisbrough, Sandal,
Maybe a place of holy candle –
Church or Priory.
Or maybe deep in the greenwood,
With outlawed men like Robert Hode,
Is the safest place to be!
You can choose to take Lady Alice to one of the following places: 1, Conisbrough Castle, a well fortified castle in Yorkshire; 2, Sandal Castle, less well fortified, but further away from Pontefract; 3, Reigate Castle, further away still in another county; 4, Barnsdale Forest, very safe, but a haunt of outlaws. 5, Kirklees Priory, safe, but will Lady Alice like it?
1, Conisbrough Castle
I
A mighty cylinder of stone,
Where the de Warenne flag is flown.
Frowns oe’r the river Don;
And topped by battlements along
The buttress tops so thick and strong
It will endure for ages long,
Whatever’s lost or won.
A castle steeped in history,
In legend and in mystery;
Whose very stones are like a book
Which speaks to those who care to look:
By the Phoenicians built say some,
While others say ’twas Hengest’s home,
The founder of the English race
Who long ago fought in this place,
As chronicled in ages gone
By Monmouth, Wace and Layamon.
Other legends even claim
Here was the Camelot of fame –
Seat of King Arthur and his court,
And where the Holy Grail was brought.
Why not? What donjon’s better able
To give a home to the Round Table?
On the second floor is a circular hall,
With a great fireplace on the north wall
Lighted by windows wide and tall.
Legends are one thing, but ’tis sure,
Should anyone oppose,
It’s mighty towers will endure
The onslaught of all foes.
II
You hurry through the barbican,
Shout warning to the guardian,
Then through the gatehouse to the ward,
Shouting, ‘Conisbrough – en garde!’
Then to the castle wall
Speed forty yeomen tall,
And iron-studded gates are barred;
Lowered behind them, the portcullis;
In front, the drawbridge raised by pulleys –
Ready now are one and all
For whatever may befall.
III
A watchman on the highest tower
Scans the scene for many an hour.
And then the dreaded sight appears,
An army of mailed men with spears
’Neath Lancaster’s red banner.
A horseman, darting from the crowd,
Like lightning from a summer cloud,
Spurs on his mettled courser proud,
In a commanding manner.
The warder hastens from the wall,
And warns the Captain in the hall,
And Earl Warenne and Eubulo
About the menace down below.
“Yield! shouts Lancaster at the gate,
“Or be prepared to meet your fate!”
But Earl Warenne sends this reply –
“We’d rather fight and die!”
IV
Trumpets herald the attack:
Men scale the walls and are thrown back
Crashing in armour to the ground
With screams of pain – a dreadful sound!
Then underneath an arrow-storm,
And under shields, the miners swarm
And dig beneath the western wall
Then set their fires and watch it fall!
V
Exley, Lancaster’s best knight,
Leads his men into the fight
Earl Warenne’s Steward, the Shire-Reeve,
Leads his forces to relieve.
Swords on shields are loudly clashing,
Halberds into helmets bashing,
Groans of the wounded rend the air,
And blood is splattered everywhere.
The motto on Lancaster’s crest
Comes true. It says: Undique mors est:
A motto that strikes men with fear,
Its meaning – “Death is everywhere!”
But Warenne’s motto answer’s bold:
With Tenebo – which means, “I’ll hold!”
VI
Exley and the Steward meet;
And Exley hacks with battle-axe,
And through the basinet it smacks,
The Steward tumbles in defeat –
A moment that imbued
The fatal Elland Feud,
That pitted the House of Lancaster
’Gainst House of de Warenne
Till thirteen hundred and fifty-four
With deaths of many men.
VII
The Inner Ward is taken,
The curtain wall forsaken,
And the survivors leap
To safety in the keep.
VIII
Earl Warenne now holds moot
In counsel most astute:
“We can hold out, but cannot win;
We have no choice but to give in
And thus prevent more slaughter.
Debate is hot, for some say not,
And others swear it is a plot,
But most agree we ought to.
“We’ll yield – surrender everything,
Then seek our redress from the king!”
Reluctantly says Earl Warenne,
“May God preserve us all!” “Amen!”
>IF you came here with Lady Alice, GOTO IX
>IF you sent Lady Alice to Reigate or Barnsdale, GOTO X
>IF you came here from Sandal Castle, GOTO IX
IX
Imprisoned are the surviving men,
And Eubulo and de Warenne
Taken to Doncaster in chains.
There de Warenne is forced to sign
And thereby all his land resign
That in the north remains:
Conisbrough, Sandal, and Wakefield
And also land in Wales must yield,
There’s nothing he can do,
For he is guarded by twelve men
Who will not let him go again
Until the signing’s through.
But worse of all, Alice is taken,
Forever must she be forsaken
Now she’s in Pontefract.
For Lancaster will guard her well
And though your life be living hell
You’ll never get her back.
> POEM OVER
X
Imprisoned are the surviving men,
And Eubulo and de Warenne
Taken to Doncaster in chains.
There de Warenne is forced to sign
And thereby all his land resign
That in the north remain:
Conisbrough, Sandal, and Wakefield
And also land in Wales must yield,
There’s nothing he can do,
For he is guarded by twelve men
Who will not let him go again
Until the signing’s through.
Where Alice is you will not say,
But Lancaster has got his way,
In every other thing.
Now he controls all of the North
And he will fight for all he’s worth
Against Edward the king.
Now you’ve escaped the lion’s mouth
With de Warenne you travel south
Where he will seek redress
From Edward – it’s your only chance
Of happy ending and romance
And regaining noblesse.
> GOTO Fitt Fourth
2, Sandal Castle
I
Your choice of Sandal was not good:
The castle’s built mainly of wood
In the Motte and Bailey form,
Ill-equipped to face the storm
Of siege-engines of modern war
Though strong enough in days of yore.
II
And what is worse, you cannot tarry,
Defending her you long to marry,
Because your duty as a squire
Requires you fight beside your sire.
It’s necessary to return,
No matter how your passions burn,
To help Earl Warenne if attacked
By Lancaster from Pontefract.
But to console your lady fair
Maud De Nereford is there:
De Warenne’s mistress, there because
Warenne was waiting for divorce
From Joan de Bar – long had he waited,
But Lancaster his wish frustrated –
By getting him excommunicated
By the Bishop of Chichester –
No wonder he hated Earl Lancaster!
III
The warder shouts when there appears
An army of mailed men with spears
Beneath Lancaster’s banner.
A horseman, darting from the crowd,
Like lightning from a summer cloud,
Spurs on his mettled courser proud,
In a commanding manner.
The warder hastens from the wall,
And warns the Captain in the hall.
“Give the Lady Alice back,”
Commands Lancaster at the gate,
“Or this castle I will sack!
The Captain gives his proud reply –
“Our orders are to fight and die!”
“Get ready, then, to meet your fate!”
IV
Trumpets herald the attack:
Men scale the walls and are thrown back
Then underneath an arrow-storm,
And under shields, the miners swarm
And dig beneath the wooden wall
Then set their fires and watch it fall!
V
The Captain now holds solemn moot,
In counsel heated but astute:
“This keep is wood, we cannot win
We have no choice but to give in
And yield the Lady Alice up!
Oh Lord! It is a bitter cup
That we must take to Earl Warenne,
May God preserve us all! Amen!”
> You still have to defend Conisbrough. GOTO I.
3. Reigate Castle
I
Auspicious place! Where Magna Carta
First was planned – that noble charter!
(Oh for another charter planned
To save the rights of Old England
From the totalitarian EU
Which pushed the Lisbon Treaty through!)
Auspicious too for Lady Alice –
So far away from Lancaster
That she need never fear his malice
Or that he’ll ever come for her.
II
But not so good for Eubulo;
It is too far you to go,
Because your duty as a squire
Requires you stay beside your sire.
Richard de St Martin will tread
That weary journey in your stead.
III
No, you must stay
Against the day
That Conisbrough Castle is attacked
By Lancaster from Pontefract.
> Lady Alice is safe, but you still have to defend Conisbrough against Lancaster. GOTO 1
4, Barnsdale Forest
I
Robert Hode was in Barnsdale
A-leaning on a tree
And next to him was Little John
A good yeoman was he.
Then Robert said to Little John,
“To dine it would be best
If we could catch some rich baron
And have him for our guest.”
And so they hunted far and wide
To see what they could do,
And caught a knight and his lady –
The Lady Alice and YOU!
“Join me and dine on the king’s deer!”
Says courteous Robert Hode.
You know that you cannot refuse
Though you would if you could.
Blindfold he leads you to his camp;
His merry men are there,
And also there’s Maid Marian
Who is his lady fair.
You tell your tale to Robert Hode;
He says, “Well, I declare!
You are my friend now, not my foe –
I hate that Lancaster!
He tried to make me and my men
Join him to fight the king.
The king is foolish – but we prize
Loyalty above everything!
And so he made us all ‘Outlaws’
He’d hang us if he could!
And that is why we ran away
To live in Barnsdale Wood.
The Lady Alice, she’ll be safe
If she stays in our care
And Marian, my lady love,
Will well look after her.
And you! why don’t you join my band,
We live a fine life here!
We rob the rich, give to the poor
And dine on the king’s deer!”
Lady Alice is safe, but do you want to:
> Do your duty as a squire by returning to de Warenne to defend Conisbrough against Lancaster. GOTO 1
OR
> Join Robert Hode’s band and stay with Lady Alice in the Greenwood. GOTO FITT FOURTH, 3.
5 - Kirklees Priory
I
Before the ending of the day...*
The Kirklees nuns at Compline pray.
Here Lady Alice will be safe,
In this Cistercian nun’s enclave.
II
The Prioress** is of noble blood,
But early took the veil and hood,
Ere upon life she cast a look,
Or knew the world she had forsook.
White is her garb, her rigid rule
Is based on the Cistercian school;
Her cheeks are pale, her form is spare;
Vigils, and penitence austere
Had early quenched the light of youth,
But gentle is the dame, in sooth;
And by coincidence her name
Is also Alice – both the same!
Prioress Alice says a prayer
And offers Sanctuary there.
“Become a novice in this house –
That’s like a nun but without vows,
So when your time of trouble’s through
You can do what you want to do.
...O let no evil dreams be near,
Nor phantoms of the night appear...
But while you stay in this domain
God will your enemy restrain.”
III
But Alice hangs her head.
She does not want to stay,
Or live her life that way;
She’ll take her chance instead
If you’ll take her away.
> You will have to try somewhere else: 1, Conisbrough Castle; 2, Sandal Castle; 3, Reigate Castle; or 4, Barnsdale Forest.
*A hymn for the Office of Compline, the final service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours.
**Alice De Scriven 1307-1331. This description draws on Scott's Marmion.
© Arthur. All rights reserved by the author.
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