Chapter 4
Given John’s actions and reputation, even when he was alive, it is not difficult to understand why so many of his barons rebelled against him. The loss of Normandy, murder of Prince Arthur and persecution of the Braose family is more than enough to justify the mistrust and withdrawn loyalty of the barons. Indeed, it is harder to understand why some barons remained loyal in spite of everything. The most famous of these, of course, is William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. Another is Nicholaa de la Haye, hereditary castellan of Lincoln Castle.
Nicholaa de la Haye is one of those very rare women in English history. She is renowned for her abilities, rather than her family and connections. In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers, defending it in no less than three sieges. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. She was also the first ever female sheriff in England, when she was created Sheriff of Lincolnshire by King John just hours before his death in 1216.
The eldest daughter and co-heiress of Richard de la Haye and his wife, Matilda de Verdun, Nicholaa was probably born in the early 1150s. As with many noble families of the time, the La Haye (or La Haie) family had their origins in Normandy and took their name from the honour of La Haie-du-Puits in the duchy.1 The family had also acquired land in England after the Norman Conquest through their continuing service to the Norman and Plantagenet kings. Nicholaa’s father, Richard de la Haye was a minor Lincolnshire lord, holding the barony of Brattleby; in 1166 he was recorded as owing twenty knights’ fees, which had been reduced to sixteen by 1172. Nicholaa was the eldest of three sisters and, when her father died in 1169, she inherited his barony of Brattleby in Lincolnshire. Like her father and grandfather before her, she also inherited the position of castellan of Lincoln Castle; a post that she would hold for over thirty years. The initial settlement between Nicholaa and her sisters was later modified; sometime around 1197, agreement was reached at Caen which allowed Nicholaa to take possession of all her father’s English lands. The family lands in Normandy were divided between Nicholaa’s two sisters, Julia and Isabella, and their husbands.2
Nicholaa was married twice, her first husband, William Fitz Erneis, died in or around 1178, but little else is known of him or their relationship. Before 1185 she married Gerard de Canville, son of Richard de Canville, lord of Middleton Stoney in Oxfordshire, and his first wife, Alice. Like the de la Haye family, the Canville’s had a long record of service to the crown. Gerard’s father, Richard, was a loyal supporter of King Stephen and then served Henry II. He was part of the entourage that accompanied Henry II’s daughter, Joanna, to Sicily for her marriage to King William II in 1176. He died in Apulia, in southern Italy, in the same year, having made numerous gifts to religious houses, including the Cistercian abbey of Combe in Warwickshire, which he had founded during the reign of King Stephen.3 Gerard inherited the majority of his father’s estate. Gerard’s half-brother, Richard was the son of their father’s second wife, Millicent, who was a cousin of Henry I’s second wife, Adeliza of Louvain. He inherited his father’s land at Stretton and his mother’s interest in the manor at Stanton Harcourt. This Richard attended the coronation of King Richard I in 1189 and was a commander of the king’s crusading fleet, embarking in the spring of 1190. En route to Marseilles, where he met up with King Richard, Richard de Canville negotiated a truce with the king of Portugal at Lisbon. At Messina, he was one of the sureties for a truce between King Richard and King Tancred of Sicily and in 1191 he was appointed joint governor of Cyprus, alongside Robert of Thornham. He fell ill shortly afterwards and, having re-joined the king, died at Acre, in the Holy Land, in June 1191.4
Gerard’s family originated from Canville-les-Deux-Églises in Normandy, in the same region as the de la Haye honour of La Haie-du-Puits. The leper hospital of Bolleville, near to La Haie-du-Puits, records grants from both families in its cartulary.5 Gerard’s lands were spread across the Midlands and south-west England, but his marriage to Nicholaa gave him a concentrated power base in Lincolnshire, and possession of one of the greatest fortresses in England.
Nicholaa’s husbands each claimed the position of castellan of Lincoln Castle by right of his wife, but Nicholaa seems to have been far from the normal subservient wife. When her husband was not in the castle, she was left in charge rather than an alternative, male deputy. On the accession of King Richard I in 1189 Nicholaa and Gerard travelled to Normandy to receive confirmation of their inherited lands ‘with the [service of] castle-ward and the constableship of the castle of Lincoln’.6 The pipe roll for Michaelmas 1190 records that Gerard paid 700 marks for the possession of Lincoln Castle and the shrievalty of Lincolnshire.7 Gerard was a talented administrator and was sheriff of Lincoln in 1189 and 1190 and again from 1199 to 1205. He was described by one chronicler as a ‘factious man, prodigal of his allegiance’.8 While another chronicler, William of Newburgh described him as ‘a man rich and noble’.9
The contradictory descriptions probably result from Gerard’s own divided loyalties. Although he had sworn allegiance to King Richard in 1191, Gerard paid homage to the king’s brother John, then count of Mortain, for Lincoln Castle. For what may have been the one and only time in his life, in 1191 John was on the right side, leading the opposition against the oppression of Richard’s chancellor, William Longchamp, whose heavy-handed administration of the country caused much dissent among the barons. Longchamp demanded Canville’s allegiance and the surrender of Lincoln Castle, which the chancellor intended to hand to one of his own supporters, William de Stuteville. However, Longchamp had not reckoned on the tenacity of the Canvilles, and of Nicholaa in particular.
Gerard appealed to John, in person, while he was at Nottingham, and Longchamp took the opportunity, presented by Gerard’s absence, to lay siege to Lincoln Castle, left in Nicholaa’s charge. Despite promises of clemency for the garrison, the formidable Nicholaa refused to yield, holding out for six weeks before Longchamp abandoned the siege, following the fall of the castles at Tickhill and Nottingham to John’s forces. Amusingly, Richard of Devizes said of this defence of Lincoln Castle, ‘his wife Nicholaa, not thinking of anything womanly, defended the castle manfully.’10 The siege lasted for forty days, as confirmed in the pipe rolls of 1191, which show that mercenaries were employed for that length of time on the siege of Lincoln Castle.11
King Richard, in Sicily en route to the Holy Land, having heard of the growing unpopularity of Longchamp, had despatched Walter de Coutances, Archbishop of Rouen, back to England to restore peace. Coutances brought the two sides together at a conference in Winchester in July, though both John and Longchamp each brought a large number of troops with them, just in case. Settlement was reached whereby John would return the castles he had taken, Gerard de Canville was reinstated until his case could be heard in a royal court, and Longchamp would withdraw his support of Arthur as Richard’s heir and recognise John as heir presumptive. Longchamp would, however, remain in power; moreover, according to Richard of Devizes, King Richard had sent orders that his brother must obey Longchamp.12 This uneasy peace was not to last the year, and when Geoffrey, the newly consecrated archbishop of York, was arrested for entering England on 18 September 1191, John exploited public opinion.
Presenting himself as the champion of English liberties, John raised a coalition against the foreign justiciar. The mutual distrust on both sides saw skirmishes between retainers, and in a skirmish on the road to Windsor, one of John’s knights was killed. Longchamp accused John of intending to usurp the throne. Within days John was welcomed into London, recognised as heir presumptive and ‘declared supreme governor of the realm, and ordered that all castles should be turned over to whomever he wanted.’13 A conference was held in the Tower of London on 10 October, during which Longchamp resigned as justiciar and was replaced by Walter de Coutances. Coutances was no pushover, however, and John was denied full authority, having to work alongside the new justiciar.
Gerard and Nicholaa benefited from John’s largesse; Gerard was appointed keeper of the honour of Wallingford. In return, Gerard was a staunch supporter of the count of Mortain and backed him in his rebellion of 1193. With Richard in captivity in Germany, John saw an opportunity to seize England. In January 1193 he sealed a treaty with Philip Augustus of France, in which he relinquished the Norman Vexin to the French king and agreed to marry his sister Alix, Richard’s erstwhile fiancée. While Philip took Gisors and assembled an invasion fleet, John returned to England to gather support for his enterprise.
Even in captivity, Richard was dismissive of his brother’s abilities, saying that John ‘is not the man to seize any land by force, if anyone meets his attack with the slightest resistance.’14 The forces loyal to the king besieged John’s castles at Tickhill and Nottingham, although some Norman barons refused to join the siege at Tickhill, claiming they were John’s liegemen. Richard’s ministers were caught in a dilemma; they had to keep John in check in order to protect the king’s throne, but always had to keep in mind that John was likely to be Richard’s successor, should anything happen to the king. John was keenly aware of the quandary which faced the king’s ministers and appears to have taken advantage of the situation whenever and wherever he could.
In July 1193 agreement was reached whereby, if John contributed to the king’s ransom and returned to his fealty to Richard, his lands would be restored to him. He was to relinquish the castles of Windsor and Wallingford, but retained possession of Tickhill and Nottingham. By December 1193, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI declared himself satisfied with the ransom payments and ready to release Richard. Desperate to prevent the English king from returning home, John and Philip Augustus offered to pay the German Emperor in order to keep Richard imprisoned; John had promised King Philip the whole of southern Normandy in return for his support. Despite being tempted by the offer of £1,000 a month, Emperor Henry was forced to adhere to his deal with Richard by the princes and bishops of his empire. King Richard was finally released on 4 February 1194.
On his return to England Richard was quick to re-establish his authority. John was excommunicated and his castles captured even before Richard was back in England; all save Nottingham, which only surrendered when the king appeared before its walls in person. John fled to France. His supporters, however, did not escape Richard’s wrath and in 1194, the Canville lands were declared forfeit and Gerard was stripped of his positions as sheriff of Lincolnshire and Castellan of the castle; he was replaced as sheriff by Simon of Kyme. After a time, Gerard was allowed to recover his forfeited lands, and the king’s goodwill, on payment of 2,000 marks. He was not, however, reinstated in his offices and he and Nicholaa probably retired to their own lands in Lincolnshire, out in the cold for the remainder of Richard’s reign. In 1194 Nicholaa was fined 300 marks by the king, for an agreement that she could marry her daughter, Matilda, to whomever she wished except, of course, to an enemy of the king. Nicholaa was still accounting for this debt until 1212 and had renegotiated the amount with King John in 1200; in 1201 she still owed £20, 40 marks and one palfrey (a horse).15 Given that this debt was attributed solely to Nicholaa, rather than Nicholaa and Gerard, it seems likely that Matilda was Nicholaa’s daughter by her first husband, William FitzErneis.
Gerard and Nicholaa had at least two further children. One son, Thomas, of whom we know nothing beyond his name and who may have died young, and their son and heir, Richard de Canville. In 1200 Richard was married to Eustachia, the daughter and heir of Gilbert Basset, and widow of Thomas de Verdon, after Gerard offered £1,000 for her wardship. The couple was to have one daughter, Idonea, who was the heiress of both Gerard and Nicholaa and who was married to William II Longespée, son and heir of William Longespée, third Earl of Salisbury and illegitimate son of King Henry II, and his wife Ela, Countess of Salisbury in her own right. The marriage would have implications for Nicholaa later on, with Longespée challenging Nicholaa for control of parts of Idonea’s inheritance.
King Richard’s death in 1199, and John’s accession to the throne, saw a dramatic change in circumstance for Nicholaa and Gerard. Not only were they restored to favour, but also to Lincoln Castle and Gerard was again appointed sheriff of Lincoln, a position he held for the next six years. Gerard, and probably Nicholaa, were present when William the Lion, King of Scots, did homage to John at Lincoln, in 1200. Gerard also supported the men of Holland, in Lincolnshire, in their long-running marshland dispute with Crowland Abbey. From 1208 to 1209 Gerard served as itinerant justice for Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire and in 1208, during the interdict imposed by the pope, Gerard supervised the collection of the revenues for the diocese of Lincoln.16 Nicholaa and Gerard are among the few barons who stayed faithful to John throughout his reign.
Gerard de Canville died before 15 January 1215, when his son Richard secured possession of Gerard’s property at Middleton Stoney.17 Nicholaa, however, was able to retain Lincoln Castle, despite the fact Richard was obviously old enough to take on the castellan’s responsibilities. On Gerard’s death, she secured possession of her inheritance as a femme sole. Her loyalty to John probably helped her to retain her lands and position, with Nicholaa rendering account for her bailiwick and appearing regularly in the records of the chancery and exchequer and following government orders. Although she received just three royal letters in 1215, between January 1216 and John’s death in October of the same year, when Lincoln was at the heart of the struggle against the rebels, Nicholaa was the recipient of, or concern of, no less than twenty-eight royal letters, close and patent.18
The duties and responsibilities that John gave to Nicholaa demonstrate the king’s continuing confidence in her abilities. Having been entrusted with a large amount of money, in April 1216, John wrote to her from Windsor, with an order for its release:
The king to Nicholaa de la Haye etc. We command that you cause to be released forthwith to Ralph Ridell, our Sheriff of Lincoln, the money which we sent to be held by him and which you have in your keeping, as the said sheriff should hand over that money to our trusty Philip Marc to do our pleasure, as we have so ordered him.19
However, apparently Nicholaa had not acted on this order as promptly as John would have liked, and he sent a reminder to Lincoln when he was at Odiham on 16 April, with some more specifics about the money: ‘Money to be paid. The king to Nicholaa de la Haye etc. We command that you send without delay to Philip Marc the sixty-two pounds which Ralph Ridell, our sheriff of Lincoln, has sent to you to enable our orders to be carried out.’20 The king was obviously keen to gather as much money together as he could and have the money transfer go ahead as quickly as possible, as he also wrote to his sheriff at Lincoln:
The king to Ralph Ridell, Sheriff of Lincoln, etc. We command that you send without delay to Philip Marc at Nottingham all the money which you have in your possession from the fines made with us when we were in your territory, any from fines made afterwards or from other acquisitions, and also from all other revenues of your county, to enable out orders to be carried out.21
King John had managed to upset practically every baron in England, with his despotic and heavy-handed ways. In 1215 open rebellion was thwarted when John put his seal to Magna Carta, a long, detailed document dealing with the barons’ particular grievances, but touching the whole system of government and including arbitrary fines and the exploitation of wardship. John ‘had broken the spirit of kingship.’22
As we have already seen, John was soon writing to the pope to have Magna Carta annulled, plunging England into rebellion. The barons invited the French dauphin, Louis, to join them and make a play for the throne. Louis was the son of John’s erstwhile friend Philip II Augustus, King of France, and the husband of his niece Blanche, who was the daughter of his sister Eleanor, Queen of Castile. Louis and his men had landed on the Isle of Thanet on 14 May 1216. The dauphin advanced through Kent and took Canterbury before moving onto Winchester. Louis was hailed as King of England in London in June of 1216. John seems to have been undecided as to how to act; he sent his oldest son Henry to safety at Devizes Castle in Wiltshire. Dover Castle, under the command of Hubert de Burgh, held out against the French and rebel forces, as did Windsor and Lincoln.
Nicholaa de la Haye is often featured in Johns’ daily business and on 4 February he wrote to her and the sheriff of Lincoln with an order to hand over the lands of someone named de Kyme – probably Simon. Simon de Kyme was a rebel, who was trying to raise the ransom for his son Philip. He himself would be captured by Royalist forces in 1217 at the Battle of Lincoln, thus adding his own ransom to his rising debts to the crown:
Nicholaa de la Haye is commanded that she cause Geoffrey de Neville, Chamberlain of the lord king, to have possession of the land that was […] de Kyme’s in her Bailiwick, which the lord king has granted to him. At Guisborough, the fourth day of February. The same is commanded of the sheriff of Lincoln. Witness the same in the same place.23
In the same month, another order was made which touched Nicholaa on a more personal level. William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury, was given the right of marriage of Nicholaa’s granddaughter by her son Richard, Idonea. Longespée intended to marry Idonea to his son, William II Longespée. Both children were very young at this point, with Idonea being, possibly, no older than 8, the youngest age that a betrothal was sanctioned by the church, though she could not be married until the age of 12. John ordered:
The Sheriffs of Oxford and of Berkshire are commanded that they cause William, Earl of Salisbury, to have the right of marriage of the daughter of Richard de Canville, born of Eustacia, who was the daughter of Gilbert Basset and wife of the said Richard, for William his first-born son by his wife Ela, Countess of Salisbury, with all the inheritance belonging to the said Richard’s daughter from her mother in their Bailiwicks. Witness myself, at Reigate, the twenty-second day of April.24
This order may be the source of Nicholaa’s later wranglings with Salisbury, given that it appears to pass all of Idonea’s inheritance into the custody of Longespée, regardless of the fact Nicholaa was still very much alive at this time. It also suggests that Richard de Canville may already have been deceased, despite most mentions of him have him dying in the first quarter of 1217.
Strategically placed in the centre of the country, Lincoln was a target for the rebel barons and their French allies. The northern barons, led by Gilbert de Gant and the king of Scots, attacked Lincoln but ‘were defeated in their attempts to take Lincoln. A certain lady called Nicholaa, who was the custodian’s wife, freed herself from this siege with a money payment.’25 Essentially, Nicholaa paid the northern barons to lift the siege and go home. On 4 September, John wrote a letter in support of Nicholaa and her efforts to bring the rebels back into the king’s peace:
the King to all those who may look upon these letters, greetings. Know that we have taken into our grace and favour all those of the county of Lincoln who wish to return to our fealty and our service by the hand of our well-beloved Nicholaa de la Haye and our trusty Robert de Gaugy [constable of Newark]; and, indeed, we gratefully welcome the fine which those who shall return to our fealty and our service have made with the said Nicholaa and Robert for having our peace. And in testimony hereof we have hereto made for them these our letters patent. Witness myself, at Oxford, the fourth day of September, in the eighteenth year of our reign.26
John was not so magnanimous, however, with those who had not returned to his fealty and had fled into the Isle of Axeholme. The king made his way north to deal with the rebels. John advanced beyond Lincoln, devastating the Isle of Axeholme in North Lincolnshire ‘with fire and sword’ before arriving back in the city in September 1216, just days after the besieging army had departed with their payment.27 Nicholaa is said to have met the king at the eastern gate of the castle. A widow for the last year, she offered the keys of the castle to the king:
And once it happened that after the war King John came to Lincoln and the said Lady Nicholaa went out of the eastern gate of the castle carrying the keys of the castle in her hand and met the king and offered the keys to him as her lord and said she was a woman of great age and was unable to bear such fatigue any longer and he besought her saying, “My beloved Nicholaa, I will that you keep the castle as hitherto until I shall order otherwise.”28
When Nicholaa spoke of her ‘great age’ she was not exaggerating. She was probably around 60 years old at the time, a good age for anyone in those days, but John still had great confidence in her.
As Louis consolidated his position in the south, John made a full inspection of Lincoln castle. Shortly after the visit Nicholaa de la Haye, who held the castle for John, even though the city supported the rebels, was appointed, alongside Philip Marc, sheriff of Lincolnshire in her own right, a very unusual move in a male-dominated world. Her son Richard was now a grown man and able to inherit the position his father had held, but appears to have taken the side of the rebels and so was not in a position to replace his mother as castellan or sheriff.29 Marc, who was also sheriff of Nottingham, seems to have disappeared from the Lincolnshire records shortly after. He was later replaced by Geoffrey de Serland, who was appointed as deputy ‘under our beloved lady Nicholaa de la Haye’.30
Moving south, just two weeks later, the king’s baggage train was lost as he crossed the Wash estuary and within a few more days John was desperately ill. He had contracted a violent fever and died of dysentery at Newark on the night of 18/19 October 1216. The new king was now John’s 9-year-old son, Henry III, with the famous and redoubtable William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, acting as reluctant regent. Following the coronation of young Henry, Magna Carta was reissued, alongside the newly-written Charter of the Forest, and some of the rebel barons returned to the fold, not wanting to make war on a 9-year-old king. Although Louis still had some powerful allies and did not seem keen to give up on his dream to rule England, support began to fall away from Louis, and he returned to France to gather reinforcements. In early 1217 he returned to continue the fight.
Louis’ forces, under the Comte de Perche, marched north intending to relieve Mountsorel Castle, which was being besieged by the earl of Chester. Chester had withdrawn as the French arrived and Perche’s forces diverted to Lincoln. In early 1217, they took the city and laid siege to the castle with a small force. Henry III’s regents wrote to Philip Marc, sheriff of Nottingham, on 12 February of hostages sent by Nicholaa’s deputy:
The king to Philip Marc, sheriff of Nottingham, greetings. We command that, when our trusty and well-beloved Geoffrey de Serland shall have sent to you at Nottingham Robert fitz Peter de Pons, Martin fitz Thomas de Paris and the other two hostages who are the children of the said Peter and Thomas, you should receive them; having received them you should forthwith release Thomas de Paris and Richard, first born son of Peter de Pons, whom you have in your custody. And in testimony hereof etc. we send there to you. Witness the earl [William Marshal] at Gloucester the twelfth day of February in the first year of our reign.31
William Marshal was also concerned with protecting the property of Nicholaa and her family whilst she was trapped in Lincoln castle, including Richard, who must have returned to the king’s peace by this time, and on the same day sent out a letter saying:
The king to all those who may look upon these letters, greetings. Know that we have taken into our protection and defence our trusty and well-beloved lady Nicholaa de la Haye and her son Richard de Canville, and all their lands, affairs and possessions. We therefore command and firmly enjoin that you support, protect and defend the said Nicholaa and Richard, and all that is theirs, neither causing nor permitting to be caused against them any trouble, harm or harassment. If any forfeiture has been made against them or their people, that should be forthwith compensated to them; you should also permit the aforesaid Nicholaa and Richard to have the benefit of the use of their woods as they please. And in testimony, whereof etc … Witness the said earl, at Gloucester, the twelfth day of February.32
Now in her sixties, Nicholaa de la Haye took charge of the defences, with the help of her lieutenant, Sir Geoffrey de Serland. Shortly afterwards, Prince Louis personally travelled up to Lincoln to ask for her surrender, assuring her no one would be hurt, but Nicholaa refused to yield and settled in for another long siege. Despite the French army outside her walls, she may have been quietly confident; this was, after all, her third siege and no one had ever managed to breach the castle walls. Lincoln Castle is a rather large fortress, sitting opposite the impressive cathedral and perched on the top of a bluff – the hill going down to the town is not named Steep Hill for nothing! However, this siege was to last longer than the others. From March through to May, Louis’ forces battered the walls of Lincoln Castle. The French prince had brought impressive siege engines, leaving them at Perche’s disposal when he returned to London, fully expecting to hear of Lincoln’s capitulation within weeks, if not days. However, he did not count on the tenacity of Nicholaa and her deputy, Sir Geoffrey de Serland, who rallied their troops and resisted the combined Anglo-French forces of the Comte de Perche, and awaited reinforcements.
For almost three months – from March to mid-May – siege machinery bombarded the south and east walls of the castle. When the small force proved insufficient to force a surrender, the French had to send for reinforcements. This meant that half of Louis’ entire army was now outside the gates of Lincoln Castle and provided William Marshal with an opportunity; one decisive battle against Louis’ forces at Lincoln could destroy the hopes of Louis and the rebel barons once and for all. Risking all on one battle was a gamble, but one that Marshal was determined to take. Spurred on by the chivalrous need to rescue a lady in distress William Marshal was determined to relieve Lincoln. After all, it would have been ‘dishonourable not to help so brave a lady’.33 While the young king Henry III waited at Nottingham, Marshal’s forces prepared for war.
Marshal mustered his forces at Newark on 17 May; the Royalist army was made up of 406 knights, 307 crossbowmen and a large number of followers, including non-combatants. The papal legate, Guala, absolved the Royalist army of all their sins – of all the sins they had committed since their birth – and excommunicated the French forces, before riding to join the king at Nottingham. While at Newark, Marshal set out the order of battle, although not without some argument. The Norman contingent and Ranulf, earl of Chester, both claimed the right to lead the vanguard. However, when Ranulf threatened to withdraw his men, it was decided to acquiesce to his demands. The regent led the relief of Lincoln himself, but was accompanied by the great and the good, including the warrior-bishop, Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, Ranulf, Earl of Chester, William Longespée, Faulkes de Bréauté, John Marshal, Marshals’ nephew, and William Marshal the Younger, the regent’s son. Marshal was eager to relieve Lincoln before the besiegers could receive reinforcements, which would increase the opposing force to a complement of 600 knights.34 On the 19 May Marshal’s forces crossed the River Trent and set up camp at Torksey, about eight miles to the north of Lincoln, with some troops possibly camped three miles closer to the city, at Stowe.
At various points in the lead up to the battle, William Marshal is known to have made some stirring speeches. When battle was imminent, he made one more:
Now listen, my lords! There is honour and glory to be won here, and my opinion is that we have the chance to free our land. It is true that you can win this battle. Our lands and our possessions those men have taken and seized by force. Shame be upon the man who does not strive, this very day, to put up a challenge, and may the Lord our God take care of the matter. You see them here in your power. So much do I fully guarantee, that they are ours for the taking, whatever happens if courage and bravery are not found wanting. And, if we die … God, who knows who are his loyal servants, will place us today in paradise, of that I am completely certain. And, if we beat them, it is no lie to say that we will have won eternal glory for the rest of our lives and for our kin. And I shall tell you another fact which works very badly against them: they are excommunicated and for that reason all the more trapped. I can tell you that they will come to a sticky end as they descend into hell. There you see men who have started a war on God and the Holy Church. I can fully guarantee you this, that God has surrendered them into our hands. Let us make haste and attack them, for it is truly time to do so!35
As with all battles, the information gets confusing as fighting commences, timings get distorted and facts mixed. No two sources give exactly the same information. It follows, therefore, that the story of a battle is a matter of putting the pieces together and making sense of various snippets of information – much as it would have been for the commanders on the day. William Marshal decided not to attack Lincoln from the south, which would have meant heading up the Fosse Way (the old Roman road) and forcing a crossing of the River Witham, before climbing the steep slope to the castle and cathedral. Instead he chose to take a circuitous route, so he could come at the city from the north-west and attack close to the castle and cathedral, directly where the enemy troops were concentrated.
In the dawn of 20 May, the English Royalist army marched south towards Lincoln. Marshal had hoped that, on reaching the plain in front of the city walls, the French would come out and meet him and a pitched battle would be fought outside of the city. Marshal was resting everything – the very future of England – on the outcome of that one battle. However, it seems that, although the French leaders did come out and take a look at the forces arrayed before them, they then chose to stay inside the city walls and wait for the Royalists to come to them. Although Louis was in charge of the French forces in England, those in Lincoln were led by Thomas, Comte de Perche, himself a grandson of Henry II’s daughter Matilda, and therefore a cousin of King Henry III; the commanders, of the English rebels in the city included Robert FitzWalter and Saer de Quincy, Earl of Winchester. They led over 600 knights and several thousand infantry.
Lincoln is an unusual city. Its castle and cathedral sit at the top of a hill, with the rest of the city to the south, at the hill’s base. In the twelfth century it was enclosed in a rectangular wall, which had stood since Roman times, with five gates, and the castle abutting the wall at the north-west corner. William Marshal’s nephew, John Marshal was sent to the castle, to ascertain the situation within the city, but as he approached, Nicholaa’s deputy, Geoffrey de Serland, was making his way out to report to the English commanders that the castle was still in Nicholaa’s hands. It is not hard to imagine Nicholaa or her deputy climbing the tallest towers of the castle, to watch out for an approaching relief force. Seeing the Marshal’s banners appearing in the north must have been an amazing feeling. The castle itself had two main gates, one in the eastern wall and one in the west, with postern gates in the Lucy Tower to the south-east of the castle and the Cobb Hall to the north-east corner. On ascertaining that the castle still held, Peter des Roches then made his way inside, probably by the postern gate in Cobb Hall. The Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal tells how Peter des Roches managed to sneak into Lincoln Castle by a secret entrance; he had been sent by William Marshal to reassure Nicholaa that relief was on its way.36 Nicholaa was delighted to hear the news and it must have bolstered the morale of the men under her command; all they had to do was sit tight and wait. Having met with Nicholaa de la Haye in the Lucy Tower, it seems Roches then made his way into the town via the postern, to check the defences and try to find a way into the city.
Des Roches’ reconnaissance proved successful and he reported to Marshal that there was a gate within the north-west wall of the city, which, although blockaded, could be cleared. As Marshal set men to clearing the blockaded gate, the earl of Chester was sent to attack the North Gate as a diversion and Faulkes de Breauté took his crossbowmen into the castle via the West Gate and set them on the ramparts above the East Gate, so their bolts could fire down on the besiegers. They were positioned on the castle walls, looking into the town, and rained a deadly barrage of crossbow bolts into the Anglo-French army. It must have been a fine sight for Nicholaa and her garrison to watch their relief march straight through the castle and engage the enemy in battle. The siege engines were destroyed, and fierce hand-to-hand fighting ensued.
De Breauté fell into disgrace in 1224 and so the major source for the Battle of Lincoln – the Histoire de Guillaume le Maréschale – plays down his role in the battle. However, his crossbowmen managed to keep the French forces focussed on the castle, rather than Marshal’s forces outside the city. De Breauté did make a sortie out of the East Gate, to attack the besiegers, but was taken prisoner and had to be rescued by his own men; although at what stage of the battle this happened is uncertain.
It took several hours, it seems, for Marshal’s men to break through the gate, but when they did, the 70-year-old William Marshal was so eager to lead the charge that he had to be reminded to don his helmet. Once safely helmeted, he led his men down West Gate, turning right to approach the castle from the north, his men spilling into the space between castle and cathedral, where the main force of the besiegers were still firing missiles at the castle. The English forces took the enemy so totally by surprise that according to the Histoire, one man, the enemy’s ‘most expert stonethrower’, thought they were allies and continued loading the siege machinery, only to have his head struck from his shoulders by one of Marshal’s men.37 Almost simultaneously, it seems, the earl of Chester had broken through the North Gate and battle was joined on all sides. Vicious, close-quarter combat had erupted in the narrow streets, but the fiercest fighting was in front of the cathedral. In the midst of the melee, William Longespée took a blow from Robert of Roppesley, whose lance broke against the earl. The aged Marshal dealt a blow to Roppesley that had the knight crawling to a nearby house ‘out of fear, [he] went to hide in an upper room as quickly as he could’.38
The Comte de Perche made his stand in front of the cathedral, rallying his troops; and it was there he took a blow from Reginald Croc which breached the eye slit of his helmet. Croc himself was badly wounded and died the same day. The Comte continued to fight, striking several blows to the Marshal’s helmet (the one he had almost forgotten to don), before falling from his horse. It was thought the Comte was merely stunned until someone tried to remove his helmet and it was discovered that the point of Croc’s sword had pierced the count’s eye and continued into his brain, killing him. With the death of their leader, the French and rebel barons lost heart and started pulling back. They fled downhill, to the south of the city. Although they briefly rallied, making an uphill assault, the battle was lost and there was a bottleneck at the South Gate and the bridge across the Witham as the enemy forces fled. The rebel leaders, Saher de Quincey and Robert FitzWalter were both taken prisoner, as were many others. In total, about half of the enemy knights surrendered.
Marshal’s army advanced down the hill into the town itself and the Anglo-French encampment. The Battle of Lincoln, on 20 May 1217, raged through the streets, the fierce fighting followed by looting and sacrilege in the medieval city. Sacking the city and attacking citizens who had collaborated with the French was considered a just punishment by the Royalist forces. The city, which had supported the rebels, was pillage, churches included; the excommunication pronounce by Guala seen as permission that everything was fair game. The battle earned the name ‘The Lincoln Fair’, probably because of the amount of plunder gained by the victorious English army. A sad story is related that, after the battle, women took to the river with their children, in small boats, to escape the attentions of the victorious army. However, not knowing how to control the overloaded craft, many capsized and the women and children drowned.
Immediately after the battle was won, William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, rode to Nottingham to inform the king of the victory. The Second Battle of Lincoln (the first being in the time of the Anarchy, the war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda) was one of two decisive battles that ended French hopes of winning the English throne. It turned the tide of the war. On hearing of the battle, Louis immediately lifted his siege of Dover Castle and withdrew to London. Support for Henry III grew, and the young king’s forces were soon marching on London to blockade Louis within the capital city. Louis’ situation became desperate, his English allies bristled against the idea of Louis giving English land as reward to his French commanders and were beginning to see the young Henry III as rightful king – after all, the son could not be blamed for the actions of the father. In August of the same year Louis was soundly defeated at sea in the Battle of Sandwich, off the Kent coast. The sea battle prevented Louis from receiving much-needed reinforcements and on 12 September, the two sides came to terms, with Louis being paid 10,000 marks to go home.39
The Battle of Lincoln turned the tide of the war. The French were forced to seek peace and returned home. The battle had been a magnificent victory for the 70-year-old regent, William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, and is a testament to his claim to the title ‘The Greatest Knight’. He staked the fate of the country on this one battle and pulled off a decisive victory, saving his king and country. Magna Carta was soon reissued and Henry III’s regents set about healing the country.
Nicholaa de la Haye also earned praise for her actions, though the French chronicler Anonymous de Béthune, probably bitter at the defeat meted out at Lincoln, described her as ‘a very cunning, bad-hearted and vigorous old woman.’40 In one of the most remarkable examples of ingratitude ever, and surely worthy of King John himself, Nicholaa was relieved of her duties as sheriff of Lincolnshire just four days after the Battle of Lincoln. The position was handed to the king’s uncle, William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury. Salisbury immediately took control of the city and seized the castle. Not one to give up easily Nicholaa travelled to court to remind the king’s regents of her services, and request her rights be restored to her. Salisbury had a keen interest in Lincoln and Lincolnshire through his son. Nicholaa’s son, Richard, had died in about February 1217 and his daughter, Idonea, was now the aged widow’s heir. Idonea was married to Salisbury’s son, William II Longespée and the couple inherited the de la Haie and Canville lands on Nicholaa’s death. A compromise was reached whereby Salisbury remained as sheriff of the County, while Nicholaa held the city and the castle. The settlement was not ideal, however, and some wrangling seems to have continued until Salisbury’s death in 1226.
A staunchly independent woman, Nicholaa issued charters in her own name, of which some twenty-five have survived. She made grants to various religious houses, including Lincoln Cathedral, and even secured a royal grant for a weekly market on one of her properties. A most able adversary for some of the greatest military minds of the time, and a loyal supporter of King John, she was unique among her peers. Although praised by the chroniclers, they seemed to find difficulty in describing a woman who acted in such a fashion; the Dunstable Annals refer to her as a ‘noble woman’, saying she acted ‘manfully’.41 It is impossible not to feel admiration for a woman who managed to hold her own in a man’s world, who fought for her castle and her home at a time when women had so little say over their own lives – and at such an advanced age. Her bravery and tenacity saved Henry III’s throne. Not surprisingly, Henry III referred to her as ‘our beloved and faithful Nichola de la Haye’.42
By late 1226 she had retired to her manor at Swaton in Lincolnshire. Having lived well into her seventies, Nicholaa died there on 20 November 1230 and was buried in St Michael’s church. Her granddaughter Idonea succeeded to Nicholaa’s lands in Lincolnshire, although her manor of Duddington in Northamptonshire reverted to the king.43
Nicholaa’s steadfast hold on Lincoln Castle against an Anglo-French force saved England and turned the tide in favour of the regents of Henry III. Nicholaa’s actions are remarkable, not only because she was a woman but also in view of her advancing years. At an age when even men would expect to be allowed to sit by the fire and reminisce about their past exploits, Nicholaa stood firm, holding a key stronghold against an invading army.
Nicholaa de la Haye’s bravery and tenacity saved Henry III’s throne and has earned her a place in history as one intricately linked to the struggles of King John and the fight for the creation of Magna Carta. The fact she was appointed sheriff of Lincolnshire, on 18 October 1216 just hours before John’s death, is testament not only to the high esteem in which John held her, but also to her singular abilities which made her well suited to the role.44 Her actions thereafter, in the lead up and execution of the Second Battle of Lincoln, only served to justify John’s trust in Nicholaa and her unique abilities. William Marshal’s approval of her and belief in her abilities are demonstrated in the Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal’s description of her as ‘the good dame’ and the prayer for Nicholaa ‘whom God preserve both in body and in soul.’45
Nicholaa’s place in the Magna Carta story, and her relevance to it, is unique. She is not here because of her influence on its clauses, nor because of its effect on her and her life. She is in Ladies of Magna Carta because she is an integral and essential part of the story of its creation, of the violent struggles in England that saw the emergence of Magna Carta and its increasing importance to the survival of the country and its king.