HOW NORMANDY BECAME A PART OF FRANCE

Some twenty years after the great adventure of William the Norman, or William the Conqueror, as he came to be called, a strange figure was seen in France, going about from one place to another. He wore a woolen tunic and over it a rough serge cloak which reached to his heels. He was bareheaded and barefooted, and as he rode along on the back of a rather forlorn-looking mule, he stretched out one bare arm before him, carrying a crucifix in his hand. Wherever he stopped, the people gathered about him, and he preached to them in simple, homely words which, nevertheless, were eloquent and moved them wonderfully. They followed him in crowds. They treasured hairs from his mule to keep as precious relics. They brought their quarrels to him and yielded to his decisions. They loaded him with gifts--which he gave away to the first person whom he saw in need.

This strange, eloquent man was Peter the Hermit. He, as well as Robert of Normandy and thousands of others, had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The Holy City had long been in the hands of the Turks, but pilgrims had been permitted to pass within its gates on payment of a tax. Another race of Turks, however, had captured Jerusalem, and now Christian pilgrims were not only obliged to pay large taxes, but they were robbed and tortured and often murdered. This was the story told by Peter the Hermit, and he begged his hearers to free the Holy Land from the infidels.

Pope Urban II had met Peter and believed in him and his message, and in a great meeting held on the plain of Clermont in France, Urban urged the thousands of people before him to put on their breasts or shoulders the red cross that was to be the sign of their vow to rescue the city of their Lord. He bade none but strong men go on the crusade, but the vast company that set out was a strange medley of men, women, and children, of good people and bad people--thieves, drunkards, and all sorts of rascals. Better soldiers soon followed them, and Jerusalem was taken. It remained in the hands of the Christians less than a century, then fell again into those of the Turks. One of the crusades undertaken in hope of recovering it might well have been called the royal crusade or the crusade of the kings, for it was led by King Philip Augustus of France and Richard the Lion-Hearted of England.

When Philip was only fifteen, his father became very ill, and, as in the case of Charlemagne, he wished to see his son crowned before his death. So all the princes and nobles hastened to Rheims, and in the great cathedral the crown was placed upon the boy’s head. His father died a few months later, and Philip was left to rule alone. He was an ambitious young king, and his great dream was to make his kingdom as large as it had been in the days of Charlemagne. There was not much prospect of this coming true, and of course Philip knew it; but he had another dream not quite so ambitious, namely, that some day he would make Normandy a part of the kingdom of France, and this was not at all impossible.

Into the midst of Philip’s dreams the news came that the Turks had captured the Holy City. All Europe was bewailing its loss. No king could hope to be honored by his people who did not do his best to help recover Jerusalem. Men were half wild to go on a crusade, and those who could not go submitted willingly to a tax amounting to one tenth of their property in order to pay the expenses of an expedition. Philip and Richard started for the Holy Land. Each wanted to be the hero of the crusade, and as the glory was inclined to fall into the hands of Richard, Philip was not at all pleased, and before long he set out on his return to France.

Besides his jealousy, Philip had another reason for hastening home. He had made a solemn promise not to touch Richard’s land or to injure him in any way while he was on the crusade. To break such a promise would be a serious matter and would get Philip into trouble, not only with English and Normans and even some of his own people, but also with the Church. If, however, he could persuade the Pope to release him from the promise, he could seize the land before Richard could get home--and this land was the coveted Normandy.

But the Pope refused to have anything to do with such a trick, and Philip set to work to form new plans. His first step was to make a bargain with John, Richard’s younger brother. Philip was to help John get possession of the English throne, and in return John was to agree not to interfere with Philip’s seizing Normandy. All was going on smoothly for the treacherous plotters when news came that Richard had made a truce with the Turks which would permit pilgrims to visit Jerusalem in peace, and was already on his way home. A little later they learned that he had been shipwrecked and was now in the hands of the Emperor of Germany. This suited them to perfection, and they offered the emperor a large sum of money if he would hold on to his captive. Possibly the emperor guessed what the plotters were about and did not care to increase the power of France; but, however that may be, he accepted the offer of the English people to pay a huge ransom for their crusader king and set Richard free. “Beware, the devil is unchained,” wrote Philip to John.

Richard was never revengeful, and he forgave his brother. Then he set out to try to protect Normandy, but he was slain, and John was now King of England and Duke of Normandy, although Normandy--and England too for that matter--belonged to his young nephew Arthur.

The people of Normandy did not like John, and Philip found them more than willing to accept Arthur for their duke. But Arthur fell into his uncle’s hands and was put into prison. One day the door of his room was thrown open and King John entered. He spoke to the boy pleasantly and asked him if he would like to have a row on the Seine River. Of course he was delighted, and they got into the boat. When they had come to a lonely place, King John suddenly drew his sword, turned upon his nephew, and stabbed him to the heart. This is the story that was generally believed, and, at any rate, Arthur was never seen again.

John was now King of England, to be sure, but he was also Duke of Normandy, and as duke he was a vassal of Philip and must obey him if he wished to keep the Norman lands. Philip summoned him to come for trial on the charge of having murdered his nephew. He paid no attention to the summons, and Philip--not at all unwillingly--declared his lands forfeited. So it was that Normandy became a part of the kingdom of France.