The Pardoner's Crime (21 page)
Read The Pardoner's Crime Online
Authors: Keith Souter
He laughed. âWilhelmina, this is not the time for such talk.'
âBut I want you, Richard. I have wanted you from the first moment I saw you. I want you toâ'
âHush, Wilhelmina, you must rest. I have things to do first. Important things, but in a few days I will be able to â woo you.'
Her eyes fluttered and as she drifted off to sleep a smile spread across her lips.
Â
There came the sound of horse's hoofs from without and Richard quickly straightened and crossed to the window in
time to see Alan-a-Dale heading towards the drawbridge. The minstrel grinned up at him and raised his hand. Dangling from it was the sack containing the jewels.
Richard gave a silent curse and was in two minds to go after him, yet he dared not leave Wilhelmina alone with Emma Oldthorpe, even although she was still unconscious and had been bound hand and foot by the minstrel. So thinking, he went over to the crumpled heap that was Gideon Kitchen and, unbuckling the cook's belt, turned him over and bound his hands behind his back.
He was just straightening up again when he again heard the sound of a horse outside the lodge. This time when he looked out he was surprised to see two people upon the one horse: Robin Hood with Matilda Oxley behind him.
âHail, Sir Richard!' cried Robin Hood, upon spying Richard's face at Wilhelmina's chamber window. âIs all well?'
âIt is now,' returned Richard. âI have the other traitors! The cook, Gideon Kitchen and Emma Oldthorpe, the apothecary's wife.'
Matilda gasped. âEmma Oldthorpe! It cannot be! Sir Richard, you are mistaken.'
Richard shook his head sadly. âThere is no mistake, I am afraid.'
âThe King is unharmed?' Robin Hood asked, concernedly.
âAye, thanks to you. So what now, Robin Hood? Where are you going now?'
The handsome, bearded outlaw glanced over his shoulder at Matilda and grinned. âWe head for Barnsdale Forest again, and mayhap as far as Sherwood.' He nodded his head. âOur plan worked well enough, did it not?'
âThanks be to God,' Richard returned.
âWill we ever be able to return, Sir Richard?' Matilda asked, her hands tight around the waist of her lover.
âI shall be petitioning his majesty about it,' Richard replied. âWhen the time is right.'
Robin Hood nodded. âThen we must be away. My men will
have released Sir Thomas's men â after charging them a
suitable
toll â and they will be with you as soon as their feet will carry them.' He raised his hand in a salute. âFarewell, Sir Richard Lee.'
âWait!' Richard cried. âDid you pass the minstrel Alan-a-Dale? I fancy that he has some property belonging to the King.'
Robin laughed. âWe did â and he has.' He winked. âLet us just say that it is the King's property, which we will look after for him, until he chooses to pardon the brothers of the Greenwood.'
Richard grinned as the outlaw wheeled his horse round and they waved before galloping for the drawbridge.
Â
Emma Oldthorpe groaned and Richard turned to look down at her with sadness and distaste. He was aware that his feelings of attraction to her had been transformed into utter revulsion.
âWill you let me go, Sir Richard?' she asked, her voice neither pleading nor showing any sign of fear. âAnd if not, will you spare me the worst?'
He felt the bitter nausea of bile rise in his throat. He shook his head sadly.
âI am afraid that I can do neither, Mistress Oldthorpe. You must face the law.'
To his amazement she smiled. âThe King's law?' she asked. She tossed her head back and spat.
âGod damn the King!'Â
R
ichard had not been surprised to learn that Hubert had not found Robin Hood in the sanctuary. He had told him of their subsequent meeting at Sandal Castle and of all that had happened. Hubert had, of course, felt slightly put out that Richard had not informed him of the subterfuge, yet when Richard explained that he needed him to convince Beatrice, he cheered up. And, of course, having the prospect of wedding the beautiful Beatrice filled him with total joy.
His Majesty King Edward II decided that he had
experienced
enough of Wakefield and of Sandal Castle and left for Rothwell Castle before heading on to York with Hugh le Dispenser. The conduct of the court he left to Richard.
The cases did not take long. The evidence was so strong, there was no need for any pressure, despite Sir Thomas's view that a little torture would speed things up and satisfy the King's subjects' blood lust. Yet this Richard would not allow, for although he was gladly accepted as a suitable suitor for Sir Thomas's daughter, he was determined not to be swayed by his potential father-in-law in his pursuit of fair justice, as befitted a Sergeant-at-Law.
Yet the sentences gave Richard no pleasure at all. Gideon Kitchen and Gilbert Gaveston, if that was his name, were to be hanged, drawn and quartered, as the law proscribed for commoners found guilty of treason against the King. Emma Oldthorpe was sentenced to be burned at the stake.
When the execution day arrived, crowds gathered from Wakefield and all the surrounding villages and hamlets of the Manor of Wakefield. The site chosen was Sandal Common.
A great pyre was erected in the centre of the common, atop which Emma Oldthorpe was bound. The intention was that she should watch the barbaric deaths of her brother and henchman before she was sent to the fires of Hell herself. Symbolically, the pageant that they had used for their
assassination
bid had been smashed up and used to fuel the pyre.
All three of them looked in a piteous state, having had neither appetite for food or water for several days. The quick deaths that they had asked for had been denied.
The two men died hideously with much gore and
accompanied
by much jeering from the crowds. Throughout it all Emma Oldthorpe screwed up her eyes as she tried to blot it all out of her mind.
Richard as the presiding judge was obliged to watch, feeling helpless when the lighted brands were finally tossed on the pyre and the dried branches began to smoke and burn, until flames were licking at her.
Then seemingly from out of nowhere, an arrow flew and pierced her heart. She gasped once, then her head fell and mercifully she knew no more.
Richard made the sign of the cross over his heart. So many deaths, so much hate. Yet for this last death he was grateful. He was pretty certain that he knew who had fired that arrow.
God save the King! He mouthed, then rose to leave.
He had a lady to woo.
The Pardoner's Crime is a work of fiction, yet the location, some of the main characters and certain events are real.
In 1313 the jewels referred to in this tale were indeed taken at Newcastle by the Earl of Lancaster, amid great controversy.
In 1316 Robert Hood (Hode) appeared before the Manor of Wakefield Court and was fined for failing to take up arms on behalf of John de Warenne the Earl of Surrey. He is believed to have been one of the 700 bowmen who fought at Boroughbridge under Thomas Earl of Lancaster, and was subsequently declared a contrariant and outlaw. It is thought that he was subsequently pardoned by King Edward II, for he and his wife Matilda returned to live out their days in the house that he built on the Birch Hill.
In November 1326 Hugh le Dispenser, the King's favourite, was taken prisoner and tried for treason, then executed at Hereford by being hanged, drawn and quartered.
On 21 September 1327, King Edward II, who had been forced to abdicate in favour of his son (King Edward III) was murdered in Berkeley Castle upon the orders of his wife, Queen Isabella, and her lover Roger de Mortimer, first Earl of March. It is said that the assassins were instructed to leave no mark upon the King's body. A horn was inserted up his rectum and a red hot spit was thrust into it to penetrate and burn his entrails.
England in the fourteenth century was a dangerous place to be. Great acts of barbarism occurred and not even kings were safe.
The medieval equivalent of a pharmacist and doctor. They were originally members of the Grocers' and Spicers' Guild. Â
Dressed stone blocks, often rectangular or square, used to make castles and cathedrals in medieval times. Â
An official of a town, court or large estate. Â
One of the great siege weapons. The earlier Roman versions were essentially giant crossbows, but in medieval times they were capable of propelling arrows or missiles. Â
Hat
A classic medieval male hat. It was round with an oval brim of fur. Â
of
Clergy
In the early days of the English legal system clergymen could claim the right to be tried in a consistory or ecclesiastical court according to canon law. Originally this right was restricted to churchmen, but it was extended to any who could read and write a passage from the Bible. Thus such people as Pardoners, Summoners and Vergers could evade the harsher sentencing of secular courts. Â
Dagger
A knife in common use between the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries. It had a distinctly shaped haft, with two oval
prominences
resembling genitalia. It was used for dispatching unhorsed knights by stabbing through the visor. Â
A freeman or landowner within a township. Â
Chapel
Chantry Chapels were common in medieval England. They were special chapels within church buildings or on private land where
priests could chant masses. There were four Chantry Chapels standing on the four main entrances to medieval Wakefield â St Mary Magdalene's on Westgate, St John the Baptist on the Northgate, St Swithens on the road to York, and St Mary the Virgin on Wakefield Bridge. Only the latter has survived to this day. Â
A close fitting lawn or silk cap that covered the top, back and sides of the head. It was the badge of office of the Sergeant-at-Law in the fourteenth century. Â
Court
A church or ecclesiastical court. One claiming benefit of clergy could be tried by this court. Â
The senior member of the town watch. In medieval times there were four watches in Wakefield. Â
After the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322 King Edward II declared that the remnants of Thomas Earl of Lancaster's army should be declared âcontrariants' and thereby outside the law. Â
-
hardie
A tight-fitting garment for both men and women. For women it was a long garment that reached to the ground, with slimming seams from the shoulders to the hips and often with loose sleeves. The man's cote-hardie was close-fitting in the waist. Â
of
Humours
The Ancient Greeks had developed the Doctrine of Humours or the Humoral Theory, which was the dominant medical theory of medieval times. It was believed that there were four fundamental humours or body fluids (from the Latin
umor
or
humor
, meaning âmoisture' or âfluid') which determined the state of health of an
individual
. These humours were blood, yellow and black bile and phlegm. Treatments aimed at removing excess of illness-producing humours by bleeding, purgation and the use of emetics.
An arrowsmith. Â
A medieval toilet. In castles these often took the form of seat-covered
holes with long drops into cess-pits, or shafts dropping into the moat. Buckets for handfuls of moss were used as cleaning agents.
Lower leg armour covering the shins or sometimes encasing the whole of the calf.
A silver coin worth four pennies during the thirteenth century.
A chain mail tunic, originally worn down to the knee, but later as a defensive tunic. Sometimes worn under a surcoat.
of
Pontefract
One of the great medieval estates with its centre around Pontefract Castle. Originally owned by the de Lacy family, it was gained in marriage by Thomas Earl of Lancaster.
and
Cry
In medieval times the law said that upon discovering a felony the individual was obliged to raise the hue and cry. Everyone hearing the call was equally obliged to join in the chase to catch the miscreant.
A long peak hanging from a hat or hood. A classic head garment of the medieval era.
of
Wakefield
One of the great medieval estates with its centre at Sandal Castle. Originally owned by the de Warenne family, it was forcibly taken from John de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey by Thomas Earl of Lancaster after his wife had been abducted by one of the Earl of Surrey's squires.
Court
Rolls
The Wakefield Manor Court Rolls are still existent and cover the entire period from 1274â1925. They contain an immense amount of detail about people, places and events in and around Wakefield, and give a valuable insight into the working of the legal process in medieval Wakefield until the early twentieth century. The manor court house was held in the Moot Hall, situated opposite the south side of the parish church of All Saints.
Lords
The Marcher Lords were powerful barons appointed by the king to guard the borders with Wales and Scotland. The greatest Marcher Lords along the Welsh border included the earls of Chester, Gloucester, Hereford, Pembroke, and Shrewsbury. Their
counterparts
along the Scottish border were the earls of Northumberland and Durham.
A war machine used in the medieval era. It consisted of a large
catapult
with a fixed bowl for firing either single or multiple missiles.
In 1311 a baronial committee of twenty-one Lords Ordainers drew up a series of ordinances, whose effect was to substitute The Ordainers for the King as the effective government of the country.
The servant in charge of the bread and the pantry.
A pardoner sold pardons or indulgences. These were certificates of remission of penance. They were introduced in return for gifts to an ecclesiastical charity, but the system became chaotic and
unregulated
. Unlicensed Pardoners made a handsome living by going from town to town selling pardons and indulgences and false relics of the saints. Geoffrey Chaucer introduces such a character in
The Canterbury Tales.
A wooden framework on a post with holes for the head and hands, in which offenders were locked, so that they could be exposed to public ridicule and humiliation.
The keeper of the township's cattle. George-a-Green the Pinder of Wakfield was mentioned in one of the earliest poems about Robin Hood.
The hospital of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Charing Cross. Some Pardoners, such as Albin of this tale, would claim allegiance from there, thereby dignifying their position
A fugitive or suspect could claim forty days sanctuary within the âsanctuary' of a church.
A now extinct legal title. A Sergeant-at-Law (
servientes ad legem
) was a senior barrister in medieval times. They were often appointed as circuit judges or as judges, but were still permitted to plead in the courts. Geoffrey Chaucer has a Sergeant-at-Law as one of his pilgrims in
The Canterbury Tales.
One of the feudal rights of the lord of a manor. In the Manor of Wakefield the Lord had the right to have all corn ground in his (soke) mills, or to have bread baked in his bakehouse.
A private room, usually upstairs, in a medieval home.
A surcoat was an outer garment commonly worn in the Middle Ages. It can either refer to a coat or tunic worn over other garments or the outer garment of a person.
One who managed a castle, property or estate on behalf of a Lord or King.
Punitive hinged, wooden framework, in which a person's feet were locked in place, and sometimes as well their hands or head. The victim was thus kept in a sitting position, a ready target for
passers-by
to pelt with dung or rotting vegetables.
The ground floor of a medieval building, often used for storage or to keep livestock.
The classic medieval head garment for women, consisting of a cloth which went over the head and round the neck and chin.
An archaic term for outlaw. As an outlaw someone was considered outside the law and could be hunted and killed.