The Crossing of the Channel
In my previous post entitled " the Departure form Dives", we left William and his army in St Valery sur Somme.
William of Poitiers gives no details of the crossing other than three stops, one in the evening before dark, one after dark and one in the morning.
William of Jumièges is even briefer, limiting himself to saying that there was a favourable wind.
The Bayeux Tapestry devotes just one scene ( Scene 38) to the crossing of the Channel
However, the Carmen devotes 25 lines to the Crossing ( lines 100 to 124). It can be interpreted as saying that there were two stops but with a bit more detail. The first stop is to form up into a fleet after leaving St Valery. In line 115 the Carmen records that an order was given to regroup entailing some ships to stop and drop anchor. In line 117 records that the stop lasted until daybreak. Finally they reach Pevensey at the third hour.
I'm intrigued that the trip was done at night but thinking about it I realised that navigation would be easier than during the day. In line 97 the Carmen mentions the "pole Star" and in line 102 it mentions that the Moon was veiled and in line 110/111 we are told that each ship had own lantern tied to the mast. So the job of navigating devolved to one ship - William's. How did they navigate? Well, there seems to be some discussion as to whether or not the Normans had a simple compass or used the stars. I suppose it all depends on the brightness of the lantern tied to the mast. a very bright lantern would have obliterated any night vision but would have enabled watching a compass.
The author of the Carmen wasn't a sailor as he intimates in line 107 that the Moon refused service. I don't think one can navigate by the Moon as it shifts the place where it rises almost on a daily basis.
Of the 6 12th century sources I have ( I'm missing Roger of Worcester) only Wace has something interesting to say about the crossing of the Channel. In line 6535, Wace reports that a cleric with knowledge of astronomy presented himself to William. However, the cleric drowned on the crossing so William was not enamoured with the cleric's skills of prophecy.
The Stray ship
It would be remiss if I didn't address the stray ship that ended up in the Romney Marsh area of East Sussex.
Now let's recap Williams journey from St Valery. All the ships leave harbour for the open sea but stop shortly after to form up into a fleet before striking out for England. In those couple of hours the fleet would have drifted southwestward and striking out at 315 deg would have had them on course for Beachy Head ( notable white cliffs near Eastbourne). As the fleet approached the coast, the remains of the Roman fort at Pevensey would have come into view on the starboard side of the ship. It would have been a small course correction to bring the fleet to the island.
In the case of the stray ship it doesn't seem to have stopped after leaving St Valery and continued on a course of 315 deg until it reached the cliffs to the west of Hastings. These cliffs are not white but a light shade of brown. In order to reach the Romney Marsh are the captain would have needed to turn to starboard and look for a suitable inlet in which to moor. Can you see the similarities?
