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I . Strangers in the Forest More than a hundred years had passed since the Normans had conquered England , but the two peoples still had not become one . The Normans held the castles , the land and the power . The Saxons , whose country it had once been , had to obey them , and many of them hated their masters . Even the language divided them . The Normans spoke French , and the Saxons spoke the old tongue of their fathers . In those years King Richard , whom people called the Lion Heart , had gone to fight in the Holy Land . On his way home he had been taken prisoner in Austria , and nobody knew when he would return . While he was away , his brother , Prince John , ruled the country . John wanted the crown for himself , and the proud Norman lords who supported him did whatever they liked . One summer evening , in a great forest in Yorkshire , two men were sitting under the old oak trees . The first was Gurth , a swineherd , who wore a simple coat of animal skin , and round his neck there was a ring of brass with words on it : “ Gurth , the son of Beowulph , is the born servant of Cedric of Rotherwood . ” Gurth was not free . He belonged to his master as the pigs belonged to him . The second man was Wamba , Cedric’s jester . He wore bright clothes and a cap with little silver bells , and he also had a brass ring round his neck . Wamba’s job was to make people laugh , but he was cleverer than he looked . “ The pigs will not come , ” said Gurth angrily . “ And a storm is on its way . Help me , Wamba , or we shall be out here all night . ” “ What do you call these animals ? ” asked Wamba , who was in no hurry . “ Pigs , of course , ” said Gurth . “ Yes , that is a good Saxon word , ” said the jester . “ But when they are killed and cooked and put on the table , what do you call them then ? ” “ Pork , ” said Gurth . “ And that is a Norman word , ” said Wamba . “ While the animal lives , a Saxon looks after it , and it has a Saxon name . When it is dead and ready to eat , it becomes Norman . That is England today , my friend . We do the work , and they eat the meat . ” Gurth laughed bitterly , and the two men began to drive the pigs home through the trees . Before long they heard horses behind them . A group of riders came round a bend in the path . At the front rode two men who were clearly of high rank . The first was a fat , cheerful churchman in rich clothes . This was Prior Aymer of the abbey of Jorvaulx , who loved good food , fine horses and hunting much more than prayer . The second was a tall , strong knight with a face that had been burnt dark by the eastern sun . Over his armour he wore the white cloak of the Knights of the Temple , with a red cross on the shoulder . His name was Sir Brian de Bois - Guilbert . He had fought for many years in Palestine , and he was known as one of the bravest and proudest knights of his order . Behind them came servants , and two dark - skinned men in eastern dress who were the Templar’s attendants .
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