Re: This Is The Way The Normans Ride



"Michael W Cook" <mwcook@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:b8b0b8a0-8613-41ea-9204-e2652b42e794@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

David

Yes, I have read Lawson's book and I also spoke to him about this
after his lecture to Battle Historical Society around 3/4 years ago.

He also admitted to me he hasn't visited all the proposed sites
suggested for Malfosse over the years.

In all there have been around 20 odd suggested but these below are the
only one's taken seriously by scholars today.

A. Beech or Reder Stream - Lower 1853.
B. Lake Field/Little Park Farm - Freeman 1869.
C. George Meadow - Ramsay 1898.
D. Manser's Shaw - Baring 1906.
E. Oakwood Gyll/Gill - Chevallier 1963.

Others I have read suggest the Malfosse incident taking place at
locations behind the Norman lines, which is clearly absurd, but many
of these are early 19th Century in origin before a proper
understanding and research of the battle was done.

Paul has visited all these sites with me and has also been down to
Oakwood Gyll, it's a difficult place to get to at the best of times,
and even now as Paul says it still has pretty steep banks which have
no doubt silted up considerably over the centuries, especially since
the building of the new road to the west. It also ticks all the right
boxes for it to have been here - distance from the battlefield (1
mile) location on route for departing and late arriving troops, a
gentle downward slope that suddenly gets steeper then falls away with
a higher bank on the opposite side. This is also one of the early
locations settled and put under the plough by the Normans in the mid-
late 12th C by the Pycot Family, who are listed as owning the land in
the Chronicle of Battle Abbey. It is also here where lots of bones are
reported to have been dug up by the Chronicle.

None of the other locations tick all the boxes as Oakwood Gyll does.

Michael

*******

That all sounds pretty reasonable. And you've covered this on s.h.m before, of course. I've even discussed some aspects of it with you before now. So, are you going to publish? It's been a hell of a long gestation period.

Cheers,

David Read


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Relevant Pages

  • Re: This Is The Way The Normans Ride
    ... Snip Lawson quote ... after his lecture to Battle Historical Society around 3/4 years ago. ... reported to have been dug up by the Chronicle. ... None of the other locations tick all the boxes as Oakwood Gyll does. ...
    (soc.history.medieval)
  • Re: This Is The Way The Normans Ride
    ... He discusses the location of Malfosse ... after his lecture to Battle Historical Society around 3/4 years ago. ... None of the other locations tick all the boxes as Oakwood Gyll does. ... come out very well and don't show the steepness of the banks either. ...
    (soc.history.medieval)
  • Re: "The Bayeux Tapestry"
    ... >> from either a lost recension of the Chronicle or some other ... Edmond's approach to battle, ... John had ... Cnut withdrew to the fort on Sheppey to winter there. ...
    (soc.history.medieval)
  • Re: "The Bayeux Tapestry"
    ... >> Did the ASC report that dragons were present too? ... much the same as Battle Abbey which you are familiar with. ... Chronicle of these and other battles, ... draft of the article, Abels discovered why. ...
    (soc.history.medieval)
  • Re: This Is The Way The Normans Ride
    ... after his lecture to Battle Historical Society around 3/4 years ago. ... and even now as Paul says it still has pretty steep banks which have ... reported to have been dug up by the Chronicle. ... --- Paul J. Gans ...
    (soc.history.medieval)