I have long said that fact is often much stranger than fiction, there is never any reason to fabricate information because a little bit of talented research can bring up pieces of history that make you go “eh?”
This is no different, and you may wonder who or what the marauding monk was, let me explain…
I have recently started learning more about the medieval period, whilst delving into all things Battle of Bosworth I developed an interest in the Plantagenets, and whilst reading about Henry III came across a chapter on the Battle of Sandwich 1217, and an interesting protagonist called “Eustace the Monk”.
Colour me intrigued.
I am going to tell you his story back to front, as basically he was fighting for the French and when his ship was captured by the English forces led by Hubert de Burgh, he offered them a lot of money to spare him but so hated was this monk, that he was executed and then his head was said to have been paraded around the southern ports of England to reassure residents that he was dead, but why?
Eustace is believed to have been born in 1170, his father being Baudoin Busket, and biographers believe that he spent some time in Spain learning black magic, and then he returned to Boulogne he became a monk in the abbey of St Samer…bit of a strange about face but there you go. There are two stories as to why he left the monastery, one is that he was persuading his fellow brothers to misbehave, the other is that he wanted to avenge the murder of his father.
His next role was to work in the court of the local Count, Renaud de Dammartin, but was accused of fraud and not performing his role as a bailiff (near enough) in 1204 and went on the run. There are also stories of the revenge he took out on the staff of Renaud, forcing a young messenger boy to hang himself, cutting the feet off soldiers of the Count’s and leaving one unharmed to go back and give the message to his master. It does seem to be around then that his leanings towards crime really started to flourish as he is sometimes described as the French Robin Hood, although his main business became piracy in the Channel and surrounding areas. Being a very competent sea farer however, he would also offer his services for hire and did some work for the then English King John, being given a fleet of around thirty ships to wreak complete and utter havoc on French shipping.
However as with most of those choosing a life of crime, they do not care where their booty comes from and his pirates would attack English vessels as well as the French ones he was being paid to target. Establishing a base in Castle Cornet on the island of Guernsey and also capturing Sark, it is understandable why anyone who had to take to the sea was absolutely terrified of him.
In 1212 he changed his allegiance to King Phillip of France instead, the English King John having allied with Eustace’s arch enemy, Count de Dammartin. Probably not the best timing as in 1216, Prince Louis (Phillip’s son) had made his way to London and was being “crowned” as King Louis I of England.
His father seeing that he needed supplies, requested our monk to sail to the area in 1217, but they did not expect to be beaten by the smaller fleet of de Burgh during the Battle of Sandwich. The French ships were under the command of Robert de Courtenay, with the experienced sailor Eustace his deputy. This article is not an assessment of what happened, but suffice to say, that if de Courtenay had listed to the advice of the monk, things may have turned out differently.
So, there you have it, we are back to the beginning, now you know why he was so hated by the English, why all the southern ports feared him but I do wonder what turned him that way? Was he really as vicious as history paints him? I guess we will never know.