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England was to be conquered by the Norman; but by the civilised, not the barbaric; by the Norse who had settled, but four generations before, in the North East of France under Rou, Rollo, Rolf the Ganger so-called, they say, because his legs were so long that, when on horseback, he touched the ground and seemed to gang, or walk.
Tostig, with all his vices, was a poor dissimulator, and his sullen spirit betrayed itself when he took leave of his host. "Chance what may," said the fierce Saxon, "no stranger shall seize the English crown without my aid. I offer it first to thee. But thou must come to take it in time, or " "Or what?" asked the Duke, gnawing his lip. "Or the Father race of Rou will be before thee!
When war dismays my barons bold, 'tis time for war to cease; When Heaven forsakes my pious monks, the will of Heaven is peace. Go forth, my monks, with mass and rood the Norman camp unto, And to the fold, with shepherd crook, entice this grisly Rou."
Another spirited example of this same characteristic is found in the Roman de Rou in the stirring account of the advance of the Normans under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings: "Taillefer, who sang right well, mounted on a charger that went swiftly, rode before the duke singing of Charlemagne and of Roland, and of Oliver and the vassals who died at Roncesval.
Look to it thou and thy proud barons, look to it!" "Proud may thy barons be," said Fitzosborne, reddening, and with a brow that quailed not before his lord's; "for they are the sons of those who carved out the realm of the Norman, and owned in Rou but the feudal chief of free warriors; vassals are not villeins.
And, muttering this rugged chant from the old "Roman de Rou," the Provencal, followed by Rodolf, pursued his way. The vast extent of Rome, and the thinness of its population, left many of the streets utterly deserted.
Later on, in honour of Henry, Wace told in the Roman de Rou the story of his Norman ancestors, and the poem, especially in the account of Senlac, has given some brilliant details to history.
The barons groaned, the shavelings wept, while near and nearer drew, As death-birds round their scented feast, the raven flags of Rou. Then said King Charles, "Where thousands fail, what king can stand alone, The strength of kings is in the men that gather round the throne.
Robert Wace, the Norman poet, who presented his Roman de Rou to Henry II, is the most picturesque and animated of the old writers, and from him we can obtain a more vivid and full description of the conflict than even the most brilliant romance-writer of the present time can supply.
And with the loud crack of wood against wood, and shattered prows, and rocking masts, uprose over the clear water the hideous din of battle. High above all the cry of "Rou," and the shouting "Dieu aide," "God and St. Michael," "Duke William and St. George."
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