stories of charlemagne and the twelve peers of france

'

STOR IES

OF CHARLEMAGNE

AND THE TWELVE PEERS OF FRANCE

FROM THE OLD ROMANCES

By the

REV . A . J . CHURCH , M.A .

Form erly P rofessor of Lat in in University College , LondonAuthor of “ Stories fr om H om er

,etc .

With I llustrat ions byG EORG E MORROW

NEW YORK

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

66,FI FTH A VENUE

PREFACE

HAVE endeavoured to tell in this volume

the story of Charlemagne, the Charle

magne , i t must be understood , not of history,but of Romance. The two personages are

curiously different. Each writer of a romance

had naturally a hero of his own . As he had

to exalt this hero , he could hardly help depre

c iating the king. Charlemagne suffers by

comparison with Roland and Reynaud very

much as , in the I l iad , Agamemmon, the over

lord of the Greeks , suffers by comparison with

the subordinate King, Achilles . The real

Charlemagne was a very great personali ty,one

that impressed his age as deeply as any man

has ever done ; in these stories he often appears

petty, capricious , and obstinate . Then the

256 998

iv PREFACE

romance writers were Frenchmen,and they

make the great king a Frenchman,holding his

court in Paris , and surrounded by great French

lords. They began to write when the air was

full of the crusading Spirit,and their work is

coloured accordingly. The enemy is always

a Saracen or a follower of Mahomet. There

could not be a more curious instance of this

than is to be '

found in the story of the death of

Roland. I n the romance Charlemagne ’s rear

guard is destroyed by an overpowering force of

Saracens . What really happened was that it

was attacked , probably for the sake of plunder

ing the baggage , by a gathering ofmountaineers ,who are called Gascons by the chroniclers

,but

were, in fact, Basques. Then , again, we find

the romance writers in sympathy with the great

feudatories, indic ating the time before the

French monarchy had become consol idated ,when the king at Paris had all that he could

do to hold his own against his powerful vassals ,the Dukes of Brittany and Burgundy, and the

English king.

The Charlemagne romances , as translated

by Lord Berners and Will iam Caxton , occupy

PREFACE

twelvei

volumes in the Extra Series of the EarlyEnglish Text Society. Some of these are

variants of the same story . There is a romance

of “ Ferumbras, for instance, which gives

substantially the same tale as that which

occupies eleven chapters in this volume .

H

Huon of Bordeaux,” again , fil ls four volumes

in the Extra Series. But the original Manson

is contained in one of the four and is complete

in itself. This, too, I have considerably

compressed and shortened . The same process

has had to be appl ied to all before they could

be made acceptable to the readers of to-day.

I hope that they have not lost their l ife and

colour and human interest.

The stories of which I have made use are

The Four Sons of Aymon (i. Ralph

the Coll ier ”

(x l i . a genuinely Engl ish pro

duction, i t would seem, as no French original

has been found ; Fierabras, taken from the

Lyf of Charles the Grete”

(xiv.—xxiv.)

The Song of Roland (xxv. and

Duke Huon of Bordeaux (xxxvi . This

has been put last in order, as it represents

Charlemagne grown old and weary of power.

vi PREFACE

The death of the great King is only mentioned

as imminent in the r omance which I have

fol lowed ; I have added an abridged account

of it from the contemporary b iography written

by Eginhard . The story of Huon is pecul iarly

interesting to us because i t introduces the fairy

King Oberon , who was to become so important

a figure in Engl ish l iterature.

I have to express my obl igations to the

I ntroduction , written by Mr . S idney Lee to

the first part of Duke Huon of Bordeaux.

ALFRED J . CHURCH.

OXFORD, yuly 1 7 , 1902

CHAP.

I I .

I I I.

IV.

VI .

VI I .

VI I I .

IX.

X.

XI .

XI I.

XIII .

CONTENTS

THE SLAe G OF LOTHAIR

How THE DUKE BENEs CAME BY HIS END .

How IT FARED WITH THE BRETHREN

THE COM ING OF ROLAND

OF THE TREACHERY OF KING JOHN

OF THE CRAFT OF MAWGIS .

MORE DEEDS OF MAWGIS

How MAWGIS BECAME A HERMIT

OF WHAT BEFELL AT MONTALBAN

How PEACE WAS MADE

OF REYNAUD’s END

How RALPH ENTERTAINED THE K ING

HOW RALPH WENT TO COURTvii

I O

CHAR.

XIV.

XV.

XVI .

XVI I .

XVI I I.

XIX .

XX .

XXI .

XXI I.

XXII I.

XXIV.

XXV.

XXV I .

XXVI I.

XXVI IL

XXIX.

XXXI I.

CONTENTS

HOW FIERABRAs DEFIED KING CHARLES

How OLIVER FOUGHT WITH FIERABRAS

HOW OLIVER AND OTHERS WERE TAKENPRISONERS

How OLIVER AND HIS COMRADES FARED

OF THE BRIDGE OF MANTRYBLE

OF THE DoINGs OF FLORIPAS

OF THE DOINGS OF THE FRENCH KNIGHTS

OF GUY OF BURGUNDY

OF R ICHARD OF NORMANDY

HOWTHE BRIDGE MANTRYBLE WAS WON

OF THE END OF BALAN THE ADM IRAL

HOW GANELON WENT ON AN ERRAND TO

KING MARSILAS

THE TREASON OF GANELON

OF THE PLOT AGAINST ROLAND

HOW THE HEATHEN AND THE FRENCH PRE

PARED FOR BATTLE

THE BATTLE

HOW ROLAND SOUNDED HIS HORN .

HOW OLIVER WAS SLAIN

HOW ARCHBISHOP TURP IN DIED

PAGE

152

163

1 72

180

190

2 15

CONTENTS ix

CHAP. PAGE

XXXI I I . THE DEATH OF ROLAND

XXXIV. HOW CHARLEMAGNE SOUGHT VENGEANCE 297

XXXV . OF THE PUNISHMENT OF GANELON

XXXVI . HOW K ING CHARLES SENT HUON ON AN

ERRAND

XXXVI I . HOW HUON MET WITH K ING OBERON

XXXVI I I . OF THE END OF THE FALSE DUKE MACAIRE 339XXX IX. HOW HUON, HAVING SLAIN A GIANT

,CAME

TO BABYLON

XL. HOW HUON RETURNED, H IS ERRAND FUL

FILLED

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

OLIVER AND FIERABRAS Frontz’

spz'

ece

REYNAUD KNEELING TO ROLAND

REYNAUD AND BAYARD

RALPH IN THE PALACE OF CHARLEMAGNE

BLOWING THE GREAT COAL

THE AMBASSADORS OF KING MARSILAS

ON THE FIELD OF RONCESVALLES

HUON MEETING WITH OBERON

STORIES OF CHARLEMAGNE

AND THE TWELVE PEERS OF FRANCE

CHAPTER I

THE SLAYING OF LOTHAIR

I NG CHARLES held a great court inhis capital city of Paris at the Feast

of Pentecost. Thither came the Twelve Peersof France , and many other men of note, besidesstrangers from Germany, England, and otherrealms . One of the chief of the Frenchmenwas Aymon, Duke of Ardennes, who broughtwith him his four sons , to wit, Reynaud , Alard ,Guichard

,and Richard . All these four were

marvellously fair, witty, and val iant ; but thefairest

, W ittiest, and most val iant was Reynaud ,the eldest born . There was not in the worlda man of so great strength and stature . I t isof him and his brothers that this tale is told.

King Charles stood up , and said , “ Brethrenand friends

,you know that by your help I have

2

conquered many lands,and brought many

pagans to confess the Christian faith . Youknow also that this has not been done withoutgrievous loss on our part

,and verily had not

been done at all but for succour that we lookednot for. But the succour that we looked for,that we had not, and notably from Duke Benesof Aygremont. This , then , is my purpose. Iwil l send to Duke Benes

,bidding him attend

me ‘ this summer. And if he will not come ,then I will bes iege him in his town of Aygremont. And when he shall come into my hands ,I will hang him , and S lay his son Mawgis, andcause that discourteous woman, his wife, to beburnt with fire. ”

Duke Naymes said, Be not so hot, my lordKing. Send a message to the Duke by someprudent man , and when you shall have rece ivedhis answer, then take counsel what you ShalldoThat is good counsel , said the King. But

wh en he called for a messenger, no mananswered

,for many were of the Duke ’s kin

dred . Then he called his eldest son Lothair,and said to him, Go to this Duke

,and bid

him come to me W ith his men-at-arms by midsummer next, or else I wil l besiege his city of

Aygremont.”

THE SLAYING OF LOTHAIR 3

The next day Lothair departed , having ahundred knights with him, armed for battle .

As they went they u ttered many threateningsagainst the Duke

,i f he should not submit him

self to the King.

I t so chanced that a Spy heard them talk inthis fashion , and ,

making all haste, came to theDuke and told him . There come messengers ,

”

he said,

“ from King Charles, threatening terriblethings , and the K ing

’s own son is with them .

”

Then the Duke asked his lords what he shoulddo . One of them , Sir S imon by name, a goodman and a wise, said to him,

“ Receive theKing’s messengers honourably. I t is not wellfor a man , how great soever he be, to fightagainst h is sovereign lord . Many of your kinsmen have so dared, yet do not you .

” Said theDuke, “ I am not fallen so low that I shouldfollow such counsel . Have I not threebrothers , princes all of them , that will helpme against the King, and four nephews also,sons of Aymon, that are stout and val iantmen ? ” So he would not l isten to S ir S imonno

,nor yet to his W i fe the Duchess

,though

she was urgent with him to speak peaceably tothe K ing’s messengers .By this time Lothair and his knights were

come to the town of Aygremont. The Prince

4 THE SLA YING OF LOTHAIR

said, “ See what a fortress is there ! Howstrong are the walls ! See

,too

,the river

running at their base. There is no strongerplace in Christendom . I t cannot be taken byforce, but haply by famish ing it may be taken .

One of his knights said to him , My lord , yousay true . This is a mighty prince, and he hasa strong castle. I t would be well if youcould make him to be of good accord withyour father. “ You speak well ,

” answeredLothair

,

“ nevertheless if the Duke shall sayanything that shall displease us , he shall besorry therefor. ” But the knight said softly tohimself

,This is fool ishness, and we shall pay

for it with our l ives. ”

So Lothair and his men came to the castle,

and knocked at the gate . Who are you ? ”

said the porter. “We be friends,” answered

Lothair, and we bring a message from theKing.

” “Wait awhile, said the porter, “ til l I tel lthe Duke. SO the porter went to the Duke andsaid

,

“There are come hither a hundred knights,

with the King’s eldest son at their head. ShallI Open the gate ?

”

Open it,” said the Duke

,

we can hold our own , yea though the Kinghimself should come with all his men . Sothe porter hasted to open the gate . But the

Duke said to his lords, Here comes the King ’s

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When the Duke heard this he stood up onhis feet in a great rage

,crying to Lothair that

it was an evil day for him on which he cameto the town of Aygremont . Not a word ofcounsel would he take, when some of hisknights would put him in mind of the King ’smight, and of how he was in truth the King

’sman

,holding of him this very town of Aygre

mont Hold your peace ! he cried . Neverwill I consent to hold aught of this man solong as I can mount a horse or hold a spear. ”

And he called upon his lords to lay hold onLothair, and they durst not disobey him , butran upon Lothair and the rest of King Charles ’smen. Then began as sore a battle as was everfought in th is world. For not only did theDuke ’s men that were within the palace assailthe Frenchmen , but the inhabitants of the town ,both merchants and craftsmen , hearing theuproar

,beset the gates . These gates, indeed ,

the Frenchmen kept with great courage ; butthey were few in number, and the day wentsorely against them . I n the end, after thatPrince Lothair had been slain by the Dukehimself

,there remained but ten of the hundred

knights al ive . These the Duke spared, on thiscondition

,that they should carry his message

to the K ing,and the message was this : “ I


will do no homage for my land, nor pay onepenny of tribute . Rather I wil l come withforty thousand men , and waste your land, andburn your fair c ity of Paris. ” After this hedel ivered to them the body of Lothair, layingit in a cart drawn by two horses . And whenthe ten knights were quit of the town, and werecome into the fields, they began to weep andlament

,not for Lothair only, but also for them

selves , for they feared the King. So they wenton their way to Paris .Meanwhile K ing Charles at Paris was not

a l ittle troubled . I fear me much ,” he said to

his lords,

“ lest some evil have befallen my son ,for this Duke Benes is a savage man and acruel . ” Then answered the Duke Aymon,

“ If the Duke shall do you any wrong, I willhelp you with all my heart. Here also are myfour sons who will go with me . ” “ That is wellspoken ,

” said the King.

“ Bring your sonshither. ” So the Duke brought them

,and the

King, when he saw them , loved them all , butReynaud, who was the eldest, more than theother three . He said to his steward

,Bring

hither the arms of King Certes , whom I slew atPampeluna, and put them on him .

” And Ogierthe Dane bound on his spurs

,and the King

himself girded him with h is sword . This done,


he dubbed him knight,saying

,

“ God increasethee in goodness

,honour, and wprth iness !

Reynaud, i t should be known , had a verynoble horse, Bayard by name, that had beengiven him by his cousin Mawgis. Never wasthere such a horse in the world , save onlyBucephalus, that was the horse of Alexanderof Macedon . When he was mounted on himhe seemed such a knight as could scarce bematched in France or any other land. Whenthey jousted in the l ists, for the King held atournament at St. Victor, that was near to Paris,not one did so well as Reynaud .

The tournament being ended , the Kingreturned to his palace in Paris . The nextmorning he said to his lords , Ogier the Dane,and the Duke Naymes and Turpin the Archbishop

,

“ I am in fear for my son Lothair ; hetarries long on this journey. I dreamed alsolast night that the Duke Benes had slain him .

”

The Duke Naymes said , “ Put no trust indreams , for they are naught.

” The Kinganswered

,

“ Nevertheless , if the Duke havedone this thing, he shall die .While they were yet speaking, there came

a messenger upon a horse , faint and weary andsorely wounded , and the King saw him passthe window where he stood . Then the King


ran l ightly down to the gate, his lords followinghim . When the messenger saw the King, hesaluted him in a low voice, and told him allthat had befallen . And when he had endedhis words, he fel l to the ground in a swoonfor grief and the pain of his wounds .Great was the King ’s sorrow. He wrung

his hands and tore his beard and his hair. Hislords sought to comfort h im , and Duke Naymes

said , Now bury your son with great honourat St. Germaine

’

s , and when you have donethis, gather together your army, and marchagainst this Duke Benes . ”

Then the King and his lords rode forth fromParis, and when they had gone the space oftwo miles, they met the cart wherein was thebody of Prince Lothair. And when the K ingsaw the cart, he lighted down from his horse,and l ifted the cloth that was upon the deadman . And when he saw how the head wassevered from the body and the face sore disfigured with wounds he cried aloud . And hesaid, “ Oh , Lothair, my son , you were a fair andgentle knight . May God of H is mercy receiveyou into Paradise ! Then his lords bore himup on one S ide and the other

,and brought him

to St . Germaine ’s . There they buried PrinceLothair with all honour.

CHAPTER I I

HOW THE DUKE BENES CAME BY H IS END

UKE AYMON said to his sons , “We doill to tarry here . The King is very

wroth , and not without cause , with your uncleDuke Benes , and will wage war against him ,

i n which matter he will of a certainty ask yourhelp . But we cannot fight against our ownkinsfolk. Let us therefore depart to our owncountry .

So the Duke and his four sons departed, andcame to the land of Ardennes . The Duchesswas right glad to see them . Nevertheless,when she was aware of the reason of theircoming she was greatly troubled . To theDuke Aymon she sa id , My lord, you havedone ill to leave the King without l icensegiven

,for he is your natural lord, and you

have received much good at his hands . Youhave brought away your sons also, whom hehas of his goodness promoted to the order of

HOW THE DUKE BENES CAME BY HIS END I I

knighthood . This was not well . Lady,said the Duke, “ we left the King because mybrother Benes had S lain the Prince Lothair,and we are afraid .

” For all that,” answered

the Duchess, “ do you serve the King andObey him , for to do so becomes a true man .

Then said the Duke, “ I would lose my castleand the half of my land

,if only my brother

Benes had not S lain the Prince Lothair.I n the meanwhile the King was greatly

troubled,not only by the death of his son,

but also by the departure of Duke Aymon

and his sons . “ See, said he, “ how thesemen whom I promoted to great honour havebetrayed me . Verily , if I lay hands on themthey shall die . But first I must punish thisvillain Duke Benes . I will make war on himthis very summer. I n the meanwhile theythat desire SO to do may go to their ownhomes, but let all be here on MidsummerDay.

”

Tidings of these things came to the DukeBenes

,and he sent to his brethren , Gerard

and Bron , that they should come to his help .

These Game with many men , so that the Dukehad now a very great army. So , having greatconfidence in his strength , he set out for Troyesin the region of Champagne.Meanwhile, there came to the K ing at

12 HOW THE DUKE BENES CAME BY HIS END

Paris Duke Richard of Normandy,with thirty

thousand men , and also the Earl Guy ofBurgundy, and the Duke of Brittany ; alsomany other lords and knights from Gascony,Burgundy, Flanders , and other parts . Theseall pitched

~their tents in the meadows of St.

Germain .

When all things had been prepared, theKing and his army set out

,his purpose being

to besiege the town of Aygremont . Whenthey had marched many days

,there came to

Ogier the Dane , who led the van of the army,a messenger riding in hot haste . He asked ,“ Whose is this army ? ” When they toldhim it was the army of King Charles , he said ,I would fain speak with the K ing.

” So theybrought him to the K ing, and he del iveredhis message, which was from Aubrey , lord ofTroyes , and to this effect ; that Duke Benesand his two brothers had come up against thetown of Troyes with a very great host, andwould most certainly take it unless the KingShould come to his help . When the Kingheard this he commanded that the armyshould leave marching to Aygremont, andshould turn aside to Troyes. And this wasdone

,and in no long time the King and his

army came to a place from which they couldsee the town of Troyes.

I 4 HOW THE DUKE BENES CAME BY HIS END

When the Duke Benes heard this,he made

haste to come, bringing a great pompany withhim , and the battle grew yet more fierce . Aftera while Duke Richard of Normandy rode atDuke Benes, p iercing his Shield with his spear,and bruis ing him sorely on the body . Alsodrawing his sword he smote the Duke ’s horseso stoutly that it fell dead . But the Duke himself sprang lightly from the ground

,and fought

right val iantly on foot, slaying sundry of thosewho thought to take him al ive . And anon hismen brought to him another horse . And stillthe battle grew fierc er and fiercer.

Then came King Charles himself,his Spear

in rest, and smote Gerard on the shield sostrongly that he overthrew both man andhorse. Then had Gerard perished but forh is two brothers Benes and Bron, who withno small trouble drew him out of the press.This indeed they did , but the battle wentagainst the men of Aygremont. Right gladwere they when the sun set, and this wasabout Comp/me time ,

I for the days were now

long.

I Complz’

ne was the last of the services of the day.

Vespers would correspond to our Evening Service, thougha little earlier, as at 6 pm . Compline came at some vary

ing interval after.

HOW THE DUKE BENES CAME BY HIS END 15

When Duke Benes and his brothers cametogether after the battle they had much debateas to what Should be done. Gerard counselledthat they should renew the battle on themorrow

,but the others deemed otherwise .

Nay,

” said the Duke Bron , “ we shall fareill if we do this . My counsel is this : let uschoose thirty knights , the most prudent thatwe can find . Let them say on our behalf toK ing Charles that we beg him to have mercyupon us , that the Duke Benes shall make suchamends for the slaying of Prince Lothair asmay be agreed by the lords of the two countries, and that hereafter we will be his truel iegemen .

” To th is counsel the others agreed.

Forthwith they sought out the thirty knights ,the most prudent men that they could find .

These, when it was day, they sent as anembassage of peace to King Charles . AndGerard gave them this counsel that beforethey sought audience of the King they shouldseek out the Duke Naymes, and beseech himto plead their’ cause with the King

,

“ for theDuke ,

” said he, is a lover of peace .

”

I n due time the thirty knights,bearing ol ive

branches In their hands , were brought into thepresence of the King, and del ivered theirmessage to him . When King Charles heard


these words he looked at the men frowningly,

and in great wrath . Then he‘said to h im that

was their ch ief and spokesman,a certa in S ir

Stephen , Surely, Sir Stephen , your Duke hadlost his wits when he slew my dear son Lothair.And now, when he says that he will be my man ,does he speak the tru th P What say you ? ”

I will answer for him, said Sir Stephen .

Then K ing Charles went with his lords intoa chamber apart, and took counsel with themwhat should be done . Then the Duke Naymessaid

,

“ My advice is that you pardon them .

They are val iant men , and you had betterhave them for friends than for enemies .Then King Charles called the thirty knights

,

and said to them ,

“ I pardon Duke Benes andhis brothers . Only I will that he come to meat the Feast of St. J ohn next ensuing, with tenthousand men well equipped for war.When the messengers brought back this

answer the brothers greatly rejoiced. DukeGerard said , “ I t is meet that we should ourselves go and thank the K ing.

” So they putoff thei r fine array, and went, having but asingle garment apiece, and with bare feet , andfour thousand knights went with them in thesame pl ight. When they came before theKing he spoke to them in peaceable words ,

HOW THE DUKE BENES CAME BY HIS END I 7

but he had anger in his heart, especially againstDuke Benes , as will be seen hereafter.Some seven days before the Feast of St.

J ohn Baptist the Duke Benes set out fromAygremont that he might present himselfaccording to his promise before King Charles .Meanwhile the King was holding his court inParis . To him came one Guenes, who was hisnephew, saying,

“ S ire, Duke Benes is on hisway hither with a company of knights . Nowis the time to take vengeance on him for themurder of Prince Lothair. ” “That weretreachery,

” answered the'

King,“ for we have

given our word to him . The Duke also is agreat man and has powerful kinsmen .

” “ I heednot that,

” said Guenes , “ I also have kinsmenthat are as good as he. “ Certainly it weretreachery, said the King again ; “ but do asyou will

,only mark that I do not consent

thereto .

So Guenes departed,having four thousand

men with him , and met the Duke and hiscompany in the Valley of Soissons . So soonas the Duke saw him , he was aware of his evilpurpose . “ I held that the King was a trueman , but now I see that he practises treacheryagainst me . NOW would that I had with meMawgis my son , and the four sons of my brother

3


Aymon. I Shall have great need of them thisday.

”

And in th is indeed he spake truly,for

there was a great battle . The Duke and hisknights did valiantly

,but what could their

valour avail against so great a multitude ?

First, the Duke’s horse was killed, and when

he rose to his feet, Guenes, being mounted on avery swift charger, made at him ,

and ran himthrough with a spear, so that he fell dead uponthe plain . When the Duke was dead therewas a great slaughter of his knights . Tenonly were left al ive , and these were sparedupon this condition

,that they should take the

body of the Duke to his town of Aygremont,

even as the body of Prince Lothair had beentaken by ten of his knights to the town of Paris.Great was the grief in the town of Aygremontwhen the body of the Duke was taken thither.But Mawgis said to the Duchess h is mother,Have patience awhile , my dear mother. TheKing shall pay dearly for this his treachery.

And in this I know that my kinsfolk willhelp me .

CHAPTER I I I

HOW IT FARED WITH THE BRETHREN

T Pentecost King Charles held a courtat Paris to which with others came Duke

Aymon and his sons . Said the King toAymon,

“ You and your sons are very dearto me. Therefore I am minded to makeReynaud my steward .

” “ I thank you,

”

answered the Duke ; yet this I will say thatyou did a grievous wrong in that you sufferedmy brother Benes to be slain , when he had asafe-conduct under your hand. NeverthelessI forgive you .

” Remember,” said the King

,

that Benes slew my son Lothair. Let us setone deed against the other, and speak ofthem no more .

” So be it, answered theDuke . But his sons were not so minded

,for

they came forth out of the company, andReynaud spake for them, S ire, he said , “ weare not of our father ’s mind, for we hate

20 HOW IT FARED WITH THE BRETHREN

you with a great hatred . The King,being

very angry, cried , “ Away out of my sight,fool ish boy ; were it not for this company Iwould set you so fast in prison that you Shouldnot move hand or foot. ”

After these things the whole company wentto the Church to hear mass ; and after massthey sat down to dinner, but Reynaud wouldnot S it down , so angry was he . After dinner,Berthelot, that was nephew to the King, saidto Reynaud, “ Come here , play me at chess .So these two sat down to play. When theyhad played awhile , there arose a disputebetween them . So hot was the dispute thatBerthelot called Reynaud by an ill name, andsmote him on the face, whereupon Reynaud,l ifting the chess board

,that was of massy gold,

smote Berthelot upon the head so strongly thathe fell down dead . When the King knew thishe cried in great wrath , “ Lay hold on thisReynaud . By St. Denis he Shall not go out ofth is place al ive . ” Then the King ’s knightswould have laid hold on him, but his brothersand kinsfolk defended him , and there was sucha strife in the palace as had never before beenseen . I n the end Reynaud and his brothers ,with Mawgis their cousin, escaped out of thepalace

,and mounting their horses fled to

2 2 HOW IT FARED WITH THE BRETHREN

brothers were returning from the hunt whenthey saw the King’s host . “Who are thesesaid Guichard . Richard

,who was the youngest

of the brethren , answered , “ This is the King’shost , for I heard it said that he was coming totake vengeance upon us . But now let us Showourselves to be men .

” So they and their companions rode to meet the vanguard of theK ing’s army. And Guichard laid his spearin rest

,and charged at the Earl Guyon

,who

was leader of the vanguard , and smote himso strongly that he fell dead to the ground.

Thereafter there was a fierce battle,and it

went hard with the King ’s vanguard , so thatscarce one of them escaped . But the threebrothers got back safe into the tower

,and

were greatly commended by Reynaud for theirvalour. And now the King besieged thecastle . “ I will take it, he said, “ by forceor by famine. But the Duke Naymes counselled him to demand Guichard of his brother.“ I f Reynaud yield him up,

” said he , “ thenthis matter shall be settled peaceably andW i thout loss . “ That is good counsel

,said

the King, and he sent the Duke Naymes withOgier the Dane to make their demands. Butwhen Reynaud heard it, he was full of anger,and said, “ My lords, but that I love you,

HOW IT FARED WITH THE BRETHREN 23

surely I had cut you to pieces for bringingso evil a message. Think you that I will doso base a thing as to yield up my own brother ?

Tell the K ing that I care not a penny for histhreatenings ; as for you , get you away out ofmy sight . ”

S O the two peers departed with allspeed

,and told the words of Reynaud to the

King.

Then the King set guards at each of thethree gates of the castle , and the commanderof the guards at the third gate was the DukeAymon himself, for, of his loyalty to the King,he made war against h is own sons .When Reynaud saw the guards that theKing had set at the gates , he said to his men ,These men are worn and weary with travel

,

and it were but small glory to overcome themnow. But when they are somewhat rested

,

then we will set upon them .

” And when themen heard him so speak, they judged that hewas a very gallant, noble knight.After a while , Reynaud said, “ The time iscome, else the King wil l think that we fearhim . Sound the trumpet, and we will let himsee what manner of men we are .

” So thetrumpet was sounded

,and Reynaud and his

men issued from the castle gate , and theK ing’

s men on the other hand made them


selves ready for the fight, and there was avery terrible battle . Reynaud and his mensuffered much that day, for first the DukeAymon wrought great damage to his sons ’

army, and then the Duke Fulk S lew many,and the defenders of the castle had much adoto hold their own . Nevertheless they did soval iantly that at the last the K ing was fain towithdraw his men . Nor did he do this W ithoutgreat damage , for Reynaud came upon thearmy as it retreated

,and slew many , and took

certain prisoners . This done , the four brotherswent back to their castle at Montanford .

But it passed the Skill of man to hold theplace against such odds as were broughtagainst them . For the King, having gatheredtogether a great multitude of men, surroundedthe castle on all sides, and kept i t close for ayear and more. Then Reynaud sent a messenger to the K ing, saying, “ I will surrenderth is fortress and myself also with my brothers

,

i f the King will promise on his part that we

Shall have our l ives and goods . But the King,

moved by certain of his counsellors, wouldpromise no such thing. And so for a whilethe matter stood ; neither could the King winthe castle

,nor could the brethren go free .

After a while there came to King Charles a

HOW IT FARED WITH THE BRETHREN 25

certain knight, Herneger by name, who said ,‘ S ire, if you will give me this castle ofMontanford for my own , and all the goodsthat are within

,and the land about it for five

miles,I wil l del iver to you Reynaud and his

brothers within the space of a month fromnow.

” Do this ,” answered the King, and

you Shall have what you ask.

Then Herneger, after he had first disposeda thousand knights in the mountains roundabout

,rode up to the castle gates and said

,I

pray you to let me enter, for the King seeksmy life. I have something to tell S ir Reynaudthat he will be right glad to hear. ” So theporter opened the gate, and let Sir Herneger

pass within .

When Reynaud heard that there was astrange knight in the castle, he came andinquired of his business . Herneger said ,“ The King seeks my life, because I spakeon your behalf. ” “ How does the Kingfare ? ” said Reynaud .

“ Has he good storeof victuals ? Herneger answered, He andhis army are well-nigh famished . They willnot tarry long in this place, and when theydepart you may get much spoil by pursuingthem .

“ That is good to hear,answered

Reynaud.

“ I f the King fail of his purpose


this time , the opportunity will not soon comeagain .

”

Then he and his brethren and Herneger the traitor sat down to supper andmade good cheer.When all the knights were fast asleep , the

false Herneger rose from his bed and armedhimself. Then he cut the cords of the drawbridge , and let i t fall , and he slew also theguards that kept watch on the wall . Whenhe had done this

,the knights who were

disposed upon the mountains came up , beingled by Guy of Burgundy, and, finding thegates open , entered in and slew all that theycould find . Truly it had gone ill with thefour brethren that night but for the horse ofAlard that woke them out of their sleep. Forsome of the guards had been S lain

,and some

who Should have watched were drunken , andthe brethren had been surprised but for theloud neighing of the horse . When Reynaudsaw that the enemy was within the castle , heand his brethren took their places in the tower,and

,when the tower was set on fire , they took

their stand in a certain pit and defended itright val iantly against all the K ing ’s men.

After awhile , the other knights that were inthe castle taking heart and coming to helpthem

,they drove out the enemy from the

HOW IT FARED WITH THE BRETHREN 2 7

castle,and shut the gates and raised the

drawbridge. The next day Reynaud said tohis brothers , “ So far we have done well , andhave been del ivered beyond all hope. Nevertheless here we may not stay, for all ourprovision of food has been burnt by fire . Letus depart , therefore, while we can . So theyleft the castle not without much sorrow . Alardand Guichard were in the vanguard with ahundred knights

,and Reynaud and Richard

brought up the rear with all the rest of theirfolk.

That night they passed through the army ofthe King without hurt or hindrance . But formany days to come they had no rest from theirenemies , nor of all that pursued them was thereone that did them more damage than didAymon their father. At last things came tothis pass that there was no one left al ive of alltheir followers . Their horses also were in asore plight, for they had nothing to eat saveonly such roots as they could find in theground . Nevertheless the horse Bayard wasplump and strong, while the others were solean and weak that they could scarce stand .

A wonderful beast was he in th is as in otherthings , being as well nourished by roots asother horses are wont to be by hay and corn .

2 8 HOW IT FARED WITH THE BRETHREN

As for the knights they were ill to see,for

their armour was eaten away with rust andtheir skins dark with hunger and want .Then said Reynaud to h is brothers

,

“WhatShall we do ? As for myself I had sooner dieas becomes a knight than pe rish here ofhunger and cold .

” Alard said,

“ My counselis that we go straight to our lady mother inArdennes . For though the King and hislords hate us , and even our father is setagainst us , yet I am persuaded that our motherwill not fai l us . “ You give good counsel ,said Reynaud and to th is the other two agreed.

That night the brethren set out, and travell ing without stay came to the city of Ardennes .When they were in sight of the walls, Reynaudsaid to his brethren , We did ill to take nosurety of our father, that he give us not intothe King’s hands . ” “ Fear not,

” answeredRichard . I am assured that our lady motherwill keep us safe .

” So they entered the town .

But no man knew them , so strange were theyto look upon , and the townsfolk asked them ,

“ Of what country are you ?” “ You are too

curious,answered Reynaud, and they rode to

the palace .Now the Duke Aymon chanced to be

hawking that day by the river, and the


you that were the fairest knight in all theworld ?

”

Then she looked about her,and

knew her other sons also , and tOok them oneby one in her arms

,both rejoicing and lament

ing. So she wept and they wept also.

And now came a yeoman to say that thedinner was served . So the Duchess and hersons went to the table, and sat down and madegood cheer.As they sat, the Duke came in from hishawking

,and said “Who are these men that

are so strange to look upon ? ” “ These areyour ch ildren and mine,

” answered theDuchess . “ See what they have suffered ,l iving in the woods . I beseech you dealkindly with them .

” But the Duke hardenedhis heart against h is sons , because he wouldbe true to King Charles . And there wasmuch dispute between them , so that Reynaudhad once half drawn his sword from its sheath.

Only Alard stayed him ,

“ Set not your handagainst h im

,for that is against God ’s com

mandment . I n the end peace was madebetween father and sons in this fashion .

Aymon said , I cannot abide in the house withthese men

,for that were against my oath to

King Charles . But you, my wife , have muchgold and S ilver, and horses and harness and

HOW IT FARED WITH THE BRETHREN 3 1

armour. Give to your sons so much as theywill take . Having said this

,he departed

from the house and his kn ights went with him .

Then the Duchess ca l led her sons to her.First she commanded that they should makebaths ready for them . And when they hadbathed , she gave them rich apparel of al l thatthey needed . This done she Showed them theDuke Aymon ’s treasure and bade them take ofit as much as they needed . Nor did they failso to do . For Reynaud made such provisionof men and arms that he gathered together agreat company of soldiers .The next day

,just as they were about to

depart, came Mawgis their cousin , tell ing ofhow he had taken three horses of the King,laden with gold and silver. “ And of thistreasure,

” said he to Reynaud his cousin .

“ 1

am ready to give you the half.S O they departed together, and the Duke

Aymon met them as they went, and gave themhis blessing, and “ See

,

” said he to the three,that you obey your brother Reynaud , for heis good at counsel . ” To the Duchess, whenShe was nigh distracted at the departure of herchildren , he said, Be not troubled over much ;we shall see them come again in great pros

perity and honour.”

CHAPTER IV

THE COMING OF ROLAND

EYNAUD and his brothers , with Mawgis

their cousin , came in their riding toP oic tiers, where it was told them that J ohn,King of Gascony was hard pressed by theSaracens . Reynaud said to his comrades

,

Let us go to the help of the King. To thisthey consented, and so coming to the city ofBordeaux were joyfully received by the Kingand his courtiers .Not many days after, the King of theSaracens came to Bordeaux , and Reynaudand his comrades went forth from the city toattack him . Then followed a great battle, andthe Saracens fled, Whom Reynaud pursued sohotly that all h is friends counted him to havebeen slain . Great, therefore , was their joywhen Reynaud came back , not only safe andsound

,but bringing with him the King of the

THE COMING OF ROLAND 33

Saracens , as prisoner, for he had taken him inS ingle combat . Thereupon , King John, holding that he could not honour too greatly SO

val iant a knight, yielded to him a fair hillwhereon was a castle , and gave him also hisS ister in marriage. This castle Reynaudmade very strong with towers and the l ike ,and called it Montalban ; and for a while thebrothers had peace.I t befell that King Charles, going on a

pilgrimage, saw this same hill with the castlebuilt upon it

,and much admiring, would know

Who dwelt there. When he heard that it wasthe castle of the sons of Aymon, he was verywroth

,and sent an embassy, of which Ogier

the Dane was the leader, to King J ohn,demanding that the brothers and their company should be del ivered to him .

“ I willdo no such thing, said the King. ThereuponKing Charles said to his barons, “You see howthis man defies us . Come now, we will go toP aris, and hold a council of the whole realm ,

and consider how we shall deal with him.

”

When the Council was assembled, the Kingstood up, and set the matter before them .

Then the Duke Naymes spake in this fashion ;Sir, we are wrong in this war ; let us havepeace for five years ; after that, i f you are so

34 THE COMING OF ROLAND

minded , we will fight again . This counselangered the K ing greatly, but While he doubtedwhat he Should say, there came to the palace ayoung man , very fair, and well arrayed, withthirty squires following h im , and did Obeisanceto the King. Tell me your name,

”

saidCharles . “ Sire, answered the stranger, my

name is Roland, and I am your nephew , beingson of your s ister that is married to the Dukeof Milan You are welcome,

” said the King.

To-morrow I will make you a knight and youshall make war upon these traitors, the sons ofAymon.

” That I will do right will ingly,”

answered Roland, “ seeing that Reynaud slewmy cousin , Berthelot .

”

On the morrow the King made Roland aknight . But while they sat at the feast, therecame a messenger saying that the city ofCologne was beset of Saracens . Said Rolandto the King, Let me go against these infidels,and the King answered, You shall go . SoRoland went with twenty thousand men wellarmed and fell upon the Saracens , and tookfrom them spoils and prisoners, and overcametheir K ing in single combat, bringing him backto Paris and del ivering him to the King.

The King said to Duke Naymes, How didRoland , my nephew, bear himsel f in the


battle ? ” “ Never did knight bear himselfbetter, answered the Duke , “ only he needsa horse that should carry him well when he isfully armed . I counsel you, therefore, to makea proclamation that there Shall be a race of allthe best horses in your realm , and that youwill give to the horse that shall prevail yourcrown of gold , and five hundred marks of finesilver, and a hundred rolls of S ilk .

” “ This isgood counsel

,said the King, and he cau sed

proclamation to be made, and the l ists to beset upNow it chanced that a yeoman of Gascony

,

being in Paris, heard the proclamation , andgoing back to his own country told the matterto Reynaud and Mawgis. When Reynaudheard it, he laughed and said : Now shall theKing see as good a race as eVer was “ run in theworld

,for I wil l go to Paris with Bayard and

win this prize .

” “ I wil l go with you,

” saidMawgis, and your brethren also, and we willhave with us some knights well armed.

So Reynaud and h is company set out,and

when any one would know who they were,they

said that they were from Beam , and that theywere journeying to Paris to run their horses inthe King’s race . When they were now near toParis , Mawgis, being a great magician , took a


certain herb that he knew, and when he hadpounded it with the pommel of

.his sword

,and

tempered it with water, he rubbed Bayardtherewith , so that he became all white . Andhe took another herb that he knew and therewith caused Reynaud to look like a youth oftwenty years . When the Others saw Reynaudand his horse , how changed they were, theylaughed aloud . Then Reynaud and Mawgis

parted from them , and went on alone to Pariswith Bayard the horse .Meanwhile, the K ing had sent the Duke

Naymes, and Ogier the Dane, and another,with a hundred knights to keep the road fromOrleans, that none might pass without theirknowledge . There they abode, not a few days,suffering much from hunger and thirst Whatdo we here said Duke Naymes . Does theKing hold uS to be fools that he makes ustarry here for nothing ? “ You say well ,

”

said Ogier the Dane, “ let us go back . Buteven as he spake, they were aware of two menon horseback . Said the Duke,

“ That horse isBayard

,but that he is of another colour. ”

When the men were near, the Duke said tothem

,

“Who are you ? ” Mawgis answered,“ My name is S ousser, and I come from Peron ,and this is my son , but he speaks no French .

”


doubt is Reynaud who Slew t he King’s nephew.

Truly, before I S leep, I will tell the matter tothe King.

” Reynaud heard the man speakand straightway slew him . Thereat there wasno small outcry, but the two knights mountedon their horses, and mingl ing with the crowd, soescaped.

After mass the K ing and his lords wentdown to a certain meadow that is by theriver Seine, where the race should be run .

And the two knights went with him,but Bayard

having his foot bound halted much . Thensaid one knight, “ See here the horse that willwin the prize,

” and another said , Verily, hewill win , i f God so favour h im .

” And theylaughed him to scorn .

When the trumpets sounded for the startingof the horses they all ran . WhenMawgis sawthis , he l ighted from his horse and cut thethread of silk that was bound about Bayard ’sfoot . And Reynaud spurred his horse

,saying

to him ,

“ Bayard, we are far behind, now it istime for you to haste. ” When Bayard heardhis master so speak, he understood him as wellas though he had been a man . Straightwayhe held Up his head, and stretched forth hisneck

,and ran so fast that he speedily passed

all the other horses. When the King saw this


he said to Richard of Normandy, “ This whitehorse is marvellously swift, and he is l ike toBayard, the horse of Reynaud, son of Aymon.

”

Reynaud , having prevailed in the race, tookthe crown of gold, but the S i lver and the silkhe disdained . Then having the crown in h ishand, he rode back to the palace where theKing sat with his lords . The King said tohim ,

“ I will give you for your horse suchtreasure as will content you .

” Reynaud an

swered ' “ Sire, I have angered you manytimes , and slain your men , and now I carryaway your crown . Know that I am Reynaud,son of Aymon. Seek elsewhere for a horsethat you may give to Roland your nephew.

But Bayard you shall not have. So sayinghe spurred his horse, and rode away, and whenhe had travelled certain miles , then cameMawgis on his black horse . So these tworeturned to the castle of Montalban , andwere received with great joy.

CHAPTER V

OF THE TREACHERY OF K ING JOHN

I NG CHARLES said to his knightsand barons , “ See now how this vi llain

Reynaud has deceived me, and carried awaymy crown . Devise some means by which Imay recover that which I have lost. ” Youmust besiege, said the Duke Naymes,

“ hiscastle of Montalban . So the K ing gatheredtogether a great army, so great indeed thatprovisions failed them . After Easter he setout from Paris, and in due time came toReynaud

’

s castle, Montalban .

The King had made Roland captain of hishost . When Roland therefore saw the castle,he

,being ever overbold, said to the K ing,

Let us assault this place without delay.

”

But the K ing answered ,“ Not so, we will

first try them , whether they will yield upthe place peaceably He sent therefore amessenger who Should say to Reynaud,

“ The

OF THE TREACHERY OF KING yOHN 41

King bids you yield up . your castle andalso your brother Richard . I f you refusehe will take it by force, and hang upboth you and him . Reynaud answered, “ Iam not one that betrays friends But ifthe King will assure to us our l ives and ourcastle we will yield ourselves to him .

” To thisthe K ing would not consent . Therefore heBesieged the place meaning to reduce it byfamine , for he perceived that i t could not betaken by force.I t fell on a certain day that Roland, seeing

that there were many birds by the river,was

minded to go hawking. So he went withOl iver his comrade (this Ol iver was a verynoble knight, and a close friend to Roland)and a company of knights, the bravest of thehost. This was seen by a certain spy, whotold i t to Reynaud and Mawgis. Mawgis said,Cousin , you will do well to attack the K ing

’shost , for they are not thinking of battle . Sothese two issued forth from the castle and fourthousand knights with them .

Turpin the Archbishop I was in charge of1 The real Turpin was, it would seem, Tilpin, Archbishop of Rheims from 754 to 794. We do not knowthat Tilpin was a warrior, but h is predecessor, Milo byname

,is said to have been a warrior clerk,” and as such

to have been put into the archbishopric by Charles Martel.

42 OF THE TREACHERY OF KING yOHN

the King’

s host. When he saw the enemycome forth from the castle

, be .was not a l ittletroubled . First he called to Ogier the Danethat he should arm himself

,and afterwards to

the other barons and knights that they shouldmake ready for battle.First Reynaud slew a certain knight of the

K ing’

s army. When Turpin the Archbishopsaw this he spurred his horse against Reynaud .

The two met with so great force that the spearsof both were broken in pieces ; but Reynaudbeing the quicker to draw his sword dealt theArchbishop so grievous a blow that both heand his horse were well-nigh brought to theground . Then cried Reynaud, “ Father, areyou that Turp in that boasts himself so much ?By my faith you were better s inging mass insome church than fighting with me . ” TheArchbishop was much angered at these words,and made at Reynaud with all h is might. Butneither he nor Ogier the Dane nor any one ofthe King ’s men could hold their ground thatday against the sons of Aymon. And when

Mawgis and his knights came forth from thewood where they lay in ambush , and assailedthe King’s host on the flank, then the Frenchmen fled

,not without great loss, especially at

the crossing of the river . The knights from

OF THE TREACHERY OF KING fifOHN 43

Montalban pursued them for a mile or so,and Mawgis took the golden dragon that wason Roland ’s tent (for Roland had not yet comeback from hawking) and set it on the greattower of Montalban , so that all men might seeit . When the King saw it he said, Now hasRoland taken the fortress of these villains . ”

But when he knew the truth , he was well fi nighbeside himself with rage .

Meanwhile K ing John was not a l ittletroubled in mind . For he said to himself,How will these things end ? These fiveknights , for al l that they are brave warriors ,cannot always prevail against the power of theK ing. So he called his barons to a council,and demanded their advice . One said onething, and another another, but the greaterpart had l ittle love for Reynaud . Of thesea certain old man that was called Earl Antonywas the spokesman . He said, “ I know thisReynaud, of how haughty a temper he is . Hisfather had but a single town , and now he holdshimself so high that he disdains to be theK ing ’s man . And now you have nourishedhis pride , giving him your s ister to wife . Andthe end will be that he will take your kingdomfrom you , and have it for himself. I f you wouldSave yourself from such dishonour, del iver himand his brethren to the King.”

44 OF THE TREACHERY OF KING yoHN

When King John saw that this counselpleased the greater part of his‘ barons

,he was

much troubled in mind, and wept for grief andshame. Nevertheless he called his secretaryto him, and said , Now write to the King andsay that, i f he will leave wasting my land, I willpresently del iver to him the sons of Aymon andMawgis their cousin . I f he will send to Vancouleurs , there he will find them, clothed withmantles of scarlet trimmed with fur, and ridingupon mules . ” So the secretary wrote accordingto these words in a letter, and gave the letter toa knight that he might take it to King Charles .When the King had read the letter, he wasvery glad . And he del ivered to the messengerof the K ing a letter wherein he had writtenwhat i t was in his mind to do, namely, to send

Ogier the Dane with a company of knights whoshould take the brethren prisoner. Also hesent from his treasury four mantles of scarlet,trimmed with fur.When King J ohn had received the letter

with the mantles , he commanded a hundredknights to make themselves ready to ride withhim to the Castle of Montalban . When hewas come to the castle his S ister came forth togreet him

,but when sh e would have kissed

h im ,as her custom was, he turned his face

46 OF THE TREACHERY OF KING 9’OHN

peace , said Reynaud.

“ He that puts h istrust in dreams has but l ittle faith in God.

Think you that your brother will betray us ?Does he not send eight of his chief baronswith us for surety.

” To his brethren he said,

I f you are fearful then will I go alone .

So the four went their way to Vancouleurs,not without fears , for Reynaud himself doubtedto what the matter might grow . Now the plainof Vaucouleurs was a sol itary place

,where four

ways met , with forests on every side , in whichforests , by command of the King , manyhundreds of knights lay in ambush

,ready to

issue forth and fal l upon the brethren . Of

these knights Ogier the Dane was the chief,and was not a l ittle in doubt how he shouldbear him

,for on the one hand he was near of

kin to the brethren , and on the other he wasbound in duty to perform the command of theK ing. Sometimes he was incl ined one way,and sometimes another. First he suffered thebrethren to pass unharmed when he might havetaken them at a disadvantage in a narrow road ;afterwards

,when they were in the plain, he

himself led his knights against them .

When the brethren found that a greattreachery had been practised upon them , theyprepared to defend themselves, having first

OF THE TREACHERY OF KING 7OHN 47

confessed their s ins to each other, for lack ofa priest to whom they

'

m igh t confess . Greatdeeds did they that day, but not without suffering many things . First Guichard was takenprisoner by the King ’s men and bound upon ahorse . Yet Reynaud del ivered him from captivity . Then Richard was grievously woundedby Gerard Lord of Valence, and came verynear to death , but h im also Reynaud, thanwhom there was never greater fighter in theworld, rescued before i t was too late. Andindeed i t was in Richard ’s counsel that thebrethren found del iverance . For when heOpened his eyes, having before been in aswoon, and saw Reynaud, he said to him ,

“ See you that rock yonder that is so highand strong ? I f we can win thither, we shallbe safe from our enemies, at least for onewhile . Nor do I doubt that Mawgis, whoknows things that are hidden from other men

,

knows in what pl ight we are, and will bring ushelp presently.

And Alard l ifted Richard from the earth,and

laid him upon his shield, and carried him to therock , Reynaud and Guichard holding backmeanwhile the King ’s men with such strengthand valour as have never been surpassed

,for

they fought as men who have no hope for their

48 OF THE TREACHERY OF KING 3’OHN

l ives , but think only how they may make mosthavoc among their enemies .

1'And now again

did Ogier the Dane rende r them good service .Tru ly they had scarce won their way to therock but for this , for when they were mosthardly pressed , he drew back his own companythe length of a bowshot . You can deal withthese men without me, said he to the King

’sbarons. “ I t were better that I should notmeddle with them any more , seeing that theyare my kinsmen .

” And so, somewhat by favourof. Ogier, but ch iefly by their own valour, thebrethren won their way to the rock .

Now the rock had four faces. Of theseReynaud kept two, so strong was he , andGuichard one and Alard one . AS for Richardhe was so spent with loss of blood that he layupon the ground and could render no help .

After a while an evil chance fell upon them,

for Guichard was so sorely wounded in thethigh that he could no longer stand upon hisfeet. He cried to Reynaud , “ Let us yieldourselves to the King, seeing that neitherRichard nor I can help you any more .

”

“ This is to speak as a coward,” answered

Reynaud.

“ I would not yield myself for allthe gold and silver in the world, no nor forBayard my horse

,though I love him better

OF THE TREACHERY OF KING i HN 49

than all other things . And , indeed , what werethe profit of yielding ourselves ? We should ofa certainty be hanged by the King, and it werebetter to perish here than to die in so shamefula fashion . When Guichard heard these wordshe was greatly troubled in spirit. “ You areright

,brother, he said .

“ Cut me now thehalf of my Shirt into strips and I will bind upmy wounds as best I may, and so make Shiftto help you against our enemies .

” This hedid ; so these three still held the rock againstthe King.

Meanwhile Mawgis knew how his kinsmenhad been betrayed, and made haste to succourthem . He saddled the horse Bayard, androde with a great company of knigh ts as fastas might be to the place where the brethrenwere. Great was Reynaud

’

s joy to see him ;

while he was yet a long way off he knew him,

not so much for himself as for the horse Bayardon which he rode . Swift as a swallow wasBayard , every stride was of thirty feet at theleast. When Richard heard it, he said to hisbrother, Lift me up in your arms that I maysee him . SO Reynaud l ifted him up

,and when

he saw Mawgis and Bayard coming up as astorm comes he said, “ The sight makes mewhole again.

”

50 OF THE TREACHERY OF KING ffOHN

Ogier the Dane was glad to see that helphad come to his kinsmen . See you thesemen he said to the Frenchmen

,we cannot

stand against them let us retreat . But whilehe was speaking, Mawgis came upon him ,

soswift was the horse Bayard

,and defied him .

Ogier,” he said, “ you came of true men , but

you are yourself untrue,

” and he spurredBayard against h im , and smote him on thebreast with his spear so stoutly that he brokeboth shield and corslet . What would havebeen the end no man can say, for Ogier on hispart was not backward , but now the horseBayard , knowing that his master was near,carried away Mawgis in his own despite, and

came and knelt before Reynaud . Then Mawgis

l ighted down from him, and greeted the brethrem most lovingly .

As for Ogier and the Frenchmen, not beingminded to stand against the new-comers , theyrode back to the river Dordogne, Reynaudcry ing out to his kinsman , Ho ! cousin ! haveyou then left being a soldier and become afisherman for eels or salmon ? ”

When they had crossed over the river, theFrenchmen blamed Ogier the Dane, for thathe had favoured the brethren , while Ogier, onhis part

,was greatly troubled, knowing that

OF THE TREACHERY OF KING yOHN 51

they spake truly, and yet that the brethrenheld him in no regard for all that he had done .

These things so wrought upon him that hemounted his horse and swam back across theriver. When he had come to the other bank

,

Reynaud, having ridden down to the river onBayard to meet him , said, “ Cousin

,surely we

have had enough of fighting ; let us be contenttherewith .

” But Ogier answered , You haveblamed me for treachery, and my own friendssay the same thing. I would rather be slainthan endure such reproaches . ”

Reynaud said, “ So be it. And the twocharged at each other and met with so greata shock that both were thrust from their saddlesand fell to the ground . Before they couldraise themselves

,for both received no small

damage,the two horses , Bayard and the other,

fell to fighting. Then Ogier, knowing thatBayard was the stronger by far of the two,would have smitten him with his sword .

Reynaud, on the other hand, hindered him .

And when Mawgis and the brothers , that isto say

,Alard and Guichard , for Richard was

too sorely wounded, saw this, they made allhaste to come . When Ogier pe rceived them ,

he had no choice but to mount on his horseand flee. Then Reynaud cried after him,

52 OF THE TREACHERY OF KING fifOHN

Come back if you will and fetch your saddle ,for the girths had been broken when the twojousted together, “ and I will deal with you insuch fashion that Charlemagne with all h ismen could not help you .

” So Ogier passedover the river once again , and Mawgis withthe brethren went back to the rock where theyhad left Richard .

54 OF THE CRAFT OF MAWGIS

Said Ogier the Dane , “ I will go with you andsee how you fare , and I promise that if you layhands on them I will lend you a rope.Roland first came to the Abbey

,and said to

the Abbot. You have here in a monk ’s habita certain J ohn , whom men call K ing of

Gascony. Del iver him to me that I may hanghim as a th ief. ” And when the Abbot wouldnot consent , Roland entered the Cloister, andtook King John by force, the man being knownto him , and set h im on a horse, with his face tothe tail . The King said to a certain knightwhom he knew, Go now to Reynaud and saythat I am in sore strai ts .

” S ir,” said the

knight , I doubt whether Reynaud will somuch as stir a foot to help you .

” Neverthelesshe consented to go.

Now Reynaud had come by this time to thecastle of Montalban . But when his wife theLady Clare came forth to meet him , he wouldnot suffer her to come near to him . Go,

” hesaid

,to your false brother J ohn . The

children also,for he had two sons, he spurned

away.

“ I will have none of this evil brood,said he . But when the Lady Clare swore byall the Saints that she had no knowledge of herbrother’s wickedness and fell i n a swoon at hisfeet

,and his brothers also made intercession

OF THE CRAFT OF MAWGIS 55

for her, his heart was softened , and he consented to receive her again .

As they sat at meat there came the knightfrom King John . He said , King J ohn is insore straits . Roland has taken him prisoner

,

and is stedfastly purposed to hang h im. TheKing knows that he has sinned grievouslyagainst you, nevertheless he prays that you willhelp him .

” Then cried Alard, “ I f Roland hangthat traitor, he wil l do well . But Reynaudsaid nothing .

When he had thought a long while he beganto speak , tell ing all the s tory Of his l ife, how hehad himself done wrong to others, and how hehad suffered many things , and was bound toShow mercy rather than hardness . “ KingJohn , he said, “ would have betrayed me, buthe did it for fear of K ing Charles . I t becomesme to help him in his need .

”

To this the brethren consented, though notwill ingly So they set forth, having six thousand men on horseback

,and one thousand on

foot, and before they had gone many hours’

journey there came Roland and Ol iver andOgier the Dane , having King John with them,

as has been said .

When Ogier saw them, he greatly rejoiced .

I f one had given me a thousand marks in


gold, he said , “ i t had not pleased me so wellas that Roland should meet the brethren andMawgis and learn of what qual ity they are.To Roland he said , “ See now what you havedesired so long. I f you take these men al ivethe King will give you great thanks therefor

,

and you will have Bayard for your own,and

the war will be ended .

” Roland answeredOgier, you say not this in kindness , but I willdo my .best.

”

Reynaud, on the other part, when he sawRoland and his company, said to his brothers ,“ Stay you behind til l you are wanted . I willmake trial of this great Roland .

” And whenthey would have kept him back he said

,

“ Iknow that he is the strongest knight in all theworld . Nevertheless I wil l meet him , for mineis the right cause and his the wrong. Therefore I shall certainly prevail . ”

When the two armies were now near, Ol iversaid to Roland

,these men are too many for

us . “ Not so, answered Roland, “ theGascons are but cowards . ” Maybe, saidTurpin the Archbishop

,but they have a good

leader this day, and a val iant man has everval iant men to fol low him .

”

Roland,l iking th is talk but l ittle, rode forth

to meet Reynaud . But Reynaud, when he was

OF THE CRAFT OF MAWGIS 57

now at the distance to charge, l ighted down offBayard , and fixing his spear in the earth

,

tethered his horse,and running forward knelt

before Roland and said to him , I pray you tohave pity on me, for you are of kin to me . Iwill give you Bayard my horse, that is the mostprecious thing I have, and my lordship ofMontalban , i f you can make the King to beat peace with us. Further, I promise that Iwill leave France for the rest of my days , andgo to the Holy Land with my brothers andMawgis, and there make war upon theSaracens . ”

Roland was much troubled at these words,

and said, “ I would that i t might be , but theKing will not make peace except you del iverto him Mawgis.

” Mawgis,” said Reynaud,

“ is not one that a man can give or take . Andnow

,seeing that I have humbled myself in vain

,

let us two settle this matter. There is no needthat others should shed their blood, but weonly. I f you overcome me then shall you takeme to the King, that he may do with me as hewill but if I , on the other hand, overcome , thenwill I take you to Montalban , but you shallsuffer no harm or shame .

”

To this Roland consented,but his friends

would not suffer it to be so. So the two armies

58 OF THE CRAFT OF MAwa s

met together in battle, and many were slain onboth S ides, but in the end Reynaud and hismen prevailed over Roland and his army.

Nevertheless Reynaud suffered this great lossand damage, that his brother Richard, having

prisoner.When Reynaud heard these tidings he was

greatly troubled , and would have given himselfup to King Charles , i f he might so del iver hisbrother. But th is the others would not suffer.Then said Mawgis,

“ Trouble not yourselvesabout Richard

,I wil l set h im free . Do you go

to Montalban . But they doubted how heshould do this , and were in great heaviness .Meanwhile Mawgis disguised himself in such

a fashion that no one could know him . Byeating of a certain herb he made himself muchbigger to see, and with another herb hedarkened his face almost to blackness . Thenhe put on him the habit of a pilgrim , havinga mantle and hood

,and great boots on his feet,

and a staff in his hand . This done, he con

veyed himself with more speed than if he hadridden the swiftest of horses to the King’scamp

,for he was a magician , as has been said .

This speed he used that he might be beforehand with Roland .


avenge you if I might, but I can do nothingagainst these men . And the false pilgrimsaid , “ I f I cannot have help of man

,yet surely

I Shall have it of God.

” The King said,

This seems to be a godly man . And heturned to his lords . I t would be a gooddeed to give this pilgrim alms . And hecommanded his steward to give him twentypounds in s ilver.When Mawgis received the money, he said

to himself, “ Surely you shall have a rewardfor th is . ” But aloud he said ,

“ I pray you,

Sire,to give me some meat, for since yesterday

I have neither eaten nor drunk.

” And theKing commanded that he should be servedwith the very best.So Mawgis ate and drank ; he said nothing,

but looked very earnestly at the King. AndCharlemagne said, “ Tell me , pilgrim , why youlook so earnestly upon me ? The false pilgrimanswered

,

“ Sire,I have travelled in many

lands , but never saw I , whether among Saracens or Christian men , so godly and courteousa prince . Now, therefore, of all the pardonsthat I have I will give you half. ” That,

”

answered the King,“ is a fair gift. I take i t

will ingly.

” So the false pilgrim gave him hisstaff to kiss for a token .

OF THE CRAFT OF MAWGIS 6 1

And now came Roland with Richard hisprisoner . But before he had audience of theKing, the Duke Naymes and other Baronssaid to him ,

“ I t will be ill done if you del iverRichard to the King . Let him depart inpeace .

” “ That, answered Roland , “ I will doright will ingly if I may .

”

But a certain yeoman that was standing byheard the Barons and Roland talking together

,

and told the matter to the King. And he,

coming forth from his tent, when he sawRichard , cried, “ Villain , now that I have you,I will see that you are hanged by the neck

,

”

and he smote him with his staff ThenRichard leapt upon the K ing, for he had beenunbound, and the two wrestled together andfell to the earth . But the Barons laid handsupon them and held them apart.When Mawgis saw how the King hadsmitten Richard , he had much ado to keepstill . Nevertheless he restrained himself,making a S ign to Richard, and when Richardknew him he was glad, being sure that heshould be del ivered by his means.After this Mawgis departed from the King

’scamp, and went with all speed to Montalban .

Being come there, he said to the threebrethren, “ Richard is yet al ive, but he is in


great straits . Come and del iver him whilethere is yet time. ” Thereupon they all setout. But when they were come near to thecamp, and had hidden themselves in a woodthat was hard by, i t s o happened that forweariness they all fell into a deep sleep . Andthis thing came near to the undoing of Richard.

Meanwhile the King called his Baronstogether. First he said to Berenger

,Lord

of Valois,“ I will make you quit of all service

to me if you will take this knave Richard andsee that he is hanged . Berenger answered ,“ You love me l ittle , my lord King, i f youmake such a demand of me . I will not dothis thing .

”

Then the King said to another of the Barons,You hold Bavaria of me, and are bound toserve me with three thousand men . I willquit you of this service if you will hang thisknave Richard .

” “ I will not hurt the man ,”

answered the Earl .Then he turned to Ogier the Dane and said,Now

,if you would prove me your love, hang

this fellow.

” “ Nay , answered Ogier, “ I willnot

,and

,moreover, I hold any man to be my

enemy that shall harm Richard .

”

At the last he said to Turpin the Archbishop,Hang this Richard, and I will make you

OF THE CRAFT OF MAwa s 63

Pope of Rome . Sire, answered Turpinto do so would be against my priest’s duty.

At last the King prevailed with a certainknight, Ripus by name, that he Should do thisdeed . So this Ripus , having put a halterabout Richard ’s neck, led him to the gallowswhich had been set up outside the wood .

And when Richard would have given him goldhe would have none of i t. Only he sufferedthat a priest Should shrive him , to whomindeed Richard confessed more sins than hehad committed in his whole l ife, so gaining al ittle t ime, for he yet looked for help . Andwhen the shriving was ended, then he beggedfor time wherein he might make his prayers

,

nor could Ripus say him nay.

And now, when he was in the greatest need,did the good horse Bayard help him , for he,having such wit as never horse had before,seeing that Reynaud his master was fast asleep,smote with his hoof on his shield, and so wokehim

,and he

,looking up, the gallows being hard

by the wood , saw Richard now beginning tomount the ladder that was set against thegallows . Then he leapt on Bayard

’s back,and made all haste to del iver Richard, Mawgis

and Alard and Guichard following him with allthe speed they could use .


As for Ripus and his men , they could makeno S tand against the brothers and Mawgis .

Many were slain,and the rest were right glad

to fly. Then Reynaud took the bodies ofRipus and fifteen of his knights that lay deadupon the plain and hanged them on the gallowsthat had been set up for Richard.

CHAPTER VI I

MORE DEEDS OF MAWGIS

HEN Reynaud had accomplished thedel ivering of his brother Richard

,he

sent the greater part of his company back toMontalban , bUt he himself remained with therest, being minded to do some great thingagainst King Charles . And this he did, formaking his way into the camp with his comrades , he came to the King

’s tent. Cutting thecords, so that the whole tent fell to the ground,he laid hands on the golden Eagle that was onthe great pole in the middle

,a thing so costly

that no man could tell the price thereof. I nthis Mawgis helped him .

But this adventure had nearly turned out tothe great disadvantage of the brothers andMawgis. For Mawgis was not content withthe taking of the Eagle

,but would have S lain

the King. He made his way into the inner6 65

66 MORE DEEDS OF MAWGIS

part of the tent where the King lay,and

said to him ,

“ Sir King, you .have troubled us

over long, slaying my father and doing us allmanner of mischief. And now you Shall die .

So saying,he thrust at the King with his spea r

but the King turned about, and the spear wasthrust into the bed two feet and more . Thenwas King Charles sore afraid, and cried out forRoland . When Mawgis heard this he lookedround, and lo ! Reynaud and the brethren weregone.When he found himself to be alone

,then

,for

all that he was as stout a warrior as ever barearms

,he was not a l ittle troubled , and turned

to flee . But many of the King ’s knightspursued him , and hindered him from escaping,and at the last Ol iver overthrew him

,casting

him down from his horse to the ground , so thathe was fain to yield himself prisoner. AndOl iver took him to the King

’s tent .When the King saw him, he was very glad ,

and said,Now, you false th ief, you Shall pay

for all the villainies that you have done.” S irK ing

,answered Mawgis,

“ you have me inyour power and you can work your will uponme . ”Nevertheless, I will counsel you for thebest. Make peace, and you shall have the bestknights in all the world to serve you. But if


be it ,” said the King ; “ but where shall the

fellow sit ? ” “ He Should best S it by you ,”

said Roland.

“ You say well ,” answered the

K ing, “ for indeed I cannot trust him to beelsewhere .

”

After supper the K ing commanded that theTwelve Peers should watch Mawgis throughthe night. Nor was he even then content

,for

he called for irons, and bound the man’s hands

and his feet. And the key of the irons hekept. Now,

” said he, “ you shall not es

cape me, you false thief. “ Think you so ? ”

said Mawgis .

“ Nevertheless, I shall be atMontalban to-morrow before prime . ” And theKing was so wroth , that he would have slainthe man forthwith , only the Peers hindered him .

This done, they sat down to play at thetables

,and at chess , and at other games . After

a while they all felt a great desi re to sleep .

Whereupon Mawgis began to work uponthem with his magic . First he made theirsleep to be so strong, that the King and thePeers and the whole company were altogethermastered by it. Then with another charmhe loosed the collar from his neck and thefetters from his legs . Then seeing that theK ing had fallen with his head awry

,he took a

p i llow and set it under him . Also he took

MORE DEEDS OF MAWGIS 69

from him his sword J oyous,and from Roland

his sword Durendal, and the sword wh ichOl iver carried , Hau tc lere by name . Also hetook much treasure out of the King’s treasury

.

When he had so done, he took a herb that hehad, and rubbed the King

’s nose and l ips withit, and said,

“ Wake, Sir King, I said that Ishould not go without taking leave . Now

,

therefore, farewell ,” and he vanished out of the

place.When the King came to himself

,he was so

angry as never man was before . He wouldhave woke the Peers , but could not, so fastasleep were they. Then he bethought him ofa certain herb that he had brought from overseas . This he rubbed on the nose and mouthand eyes of the Peers , and they awoke forthwith . Said the Duke Naymes, Wherenow is Mawgis

? ” “He is gone,” answered

the King,

“ and by your fault, for ye hinderedme when I would have hanged him . Didyou see him depart ? ” said Ol iver to Roland,No

,by St . Denis,

” answered Roland . Butthe King said

,

“ I saw him go with my owneyes . Then you should have warned us,

”

said Roland,and as he spake he put his hand

to his s ide and missed his good sword Durendal.

And when the Peers found that their swords


were gone they were fairly distraught withanger.The next day the K ing said to his BaronsGo now to Reynaud

,and tell h im that if he

will give back to me my golden Eagle and mycrown , and my sword Joyous , then I will granthim a truce for two years . Ogier shall takethis message, and the Duke Naymes andTurp in the Archbishop .

”

S O these mounted their horses and rode toMontalban . When they were come to thegate, they called the porter and said to him,

We be knights of the K ing, and would fainspeak with Sir Reynaud. So the porter toldthe th ing to the brethren.

Richard went to the gate and saluted themcourteously, and brought them into the castle,where they were honourably received byReynaud and the Lady Clare, Alard also andGuichard helping. Then Ogier del ivered hismessage

,and Reynaud said, “ Tarry here, my

lords,this night, and we will give you an

answer in the morning.

” To this they consented . So a great feast was prepared , andthey sat down and were right royally enter

tained .

The next day the Duke Naymes said toReynaud

,

“What answer do you make to the

MORE DEEDS OF MAWGIS 7 1

King ? ” Reynaud answered , “ I will do ashe desires .When Ogier the Dane heard this

,he was

glad, and thought within himself, Now willthe King be greatly pleased . Maybe thereshall be not a truce only

,but peace . I f I can

move Reynaud to come back with us to theKing, the two may well be reconciled.

” Sohe told his thought to Reynaud and Reynaudconsented to i t.The next day they set out. Ogier and theDuke Naymes went on with all speed theymight use to the K ing ’s camp ; but Reynaudand Alard followed slowly with Turp in andanother.I n the meanwhile a certain spy

,having

knowledge of the whole matter, made haste totell i t to the K ing, and this he did before thatOgier and the Duke were come to the camp.

When the K ing heard it, he said to Ol iver“ Take with you two hundred knights , andride with all haste to the river of Besangon,

where, i f you use dil igence, you will findReynaud and Alard. Lay hold of them andbring them hither to me. ”

So Ol iver rode with his knights, and whenhe was come to the river, he found Reynaud onfoot and Bayard his horse so far from him that


he could not mount him ; so he was takenunawares . Then he turned to Turpin andthat other i n great anger

,saying, “ Villains,

you have betrayed me. ” “ S ir,

” answeredTurp in , “ I swear to you that I am innocent inthis matter. ”

Reynaud said to Ol iver, “ Remember youhow I helped you at Vaucouleurs when youwere borne to the ground , giving you againyour horse and helping you to mount. ” “ Iremember it well ,

” answered Ol iver. “ Noman shall harm you if I can hinder him .

Nevertheless I must take you to the King.

”

So they set out to go to the camp.

But the Duke Naymes and Ogier andOl iver and al l the Peers made entreaty to theK ing , that he would make peace with thebrethren . But he hardened his heart againstthem . You waste your breath, he said, “ Iwil l do the thing that I choose, though you allshall say me nay and turning to Reynaud hesaid

,

“ You shall not cheat me as did that falsethief Mawgis, for I will cut you into pieces andburn the pieces with fire .

“ Sir,” answered

Reynaud,you shall not do so , God be ing my

helper . ”

The King, being thus defied , turned him to

Ogier, and sa id , Ogier, will you take the part

MORE DEEDS OF MAWOIS 73

of my mortal enemy ? ” “ That will not I,

answered Ogier nevertheless I will defend myhonour against all men , even against the King.

Then said Reynaud, “ Sir , you have saidthat I am a traitor. Now know that I am notraitor, neither is there a traitor in all my houseand kindred . And if any man say oughtagainst me or my kinsmen , then will I fightwith him, man to man .

” The King answered,

“ I will prove my accusation against you byforce of arms . Then Reynaud said again .

“ S ir,you Speak as a King should speak . I

give you my gage that I am as true a man asany that l ives in the world.

” “ I will takeyour gage

,

” answered the King, “ I f so be youcan find sureties .” Then Ogier and Turpinand the Duke Naymes and another stoodsureties for h im .

Reynaud said to the King, “ Are you contentwith these sureties. “ That I am,

” answeredthe King. Then Reynaud would know withwhom he should fight. With me, said theKing. But when Roland heard this, he said,“ I t must not be so, S ire ; I will fight in yourplace . ” And so it was ordered . ThenReynaud

,being mounted on Bayard, returned

to Montalban with the Duke Naymes andOgier and other Peers .

CHAPTER V I I I

How MAWGIS BECAME A HERMIT

EYNAUD entertained the Barons thatnight in Royal fash ion . The next day ,

after they had heard mass, he was minded toset forth , and he said to h is brothers andMawgis, Tarry here and keep this castle.“ Nay

,

” said Alard , “ we will come with you .

Maybe you will have need of help .

” “ Alardhas spoken well ,

” said Ogier the Dane.Then said Reynaud to Mawgis,

“ You at theleast will tarry here. ” That will I d o, faircousin

,

”

answered Mawgis,“ and be sure that

Montalban shall suffer no harm through me.Reynaud rode to Montfaucon , and there he

found Roland waiting for him . Roland spakethe first

,and said , Be sure, Sir Reynaud , that

when you leave the field this day, you will soleave it that you will never again fight with meor any other man .

“ Such threatenings do

7o HOW MAWGIS BECAME A HERMIT

down and fight afoot lest by chance weshould kill our horses, for if we lose themwe are not l ike to get their like again .

” Withthis Roland was content. So they l ighteddown from their horses and fought on foot .First they fought with swords

,but neither

one could get the better of the other. WhenRoland saw that he could not prevail with h issword he caught the other round the waist

,

and wrestled with h im in the same fashion asthe Northerners use. So they two strovetogether for so long a time as a man mighttake for the running of a mile. Then seeingthat neither could throw the other they satdown , being utterly wearied ; their helmetsand shields were partly broken , and the groundwhereon they had stood was trampled as ifmen had beaten corn thereon .

Then there came to pass a right wonderfulth ing. There suddenly fell upon the two sothick a Cloud that neither could see the other.Then Roland , having bethought himself awhile,said to Reynaud, Will you do me a courteousturn

,and I will some day, i f you should need

it,do the same to you .

” Reynaud answered,“ I am ready to do whatsoever you shall askme

.

” Then Roland said, “ I wil l that you takeme with you to Montalban, for I am persuaded

HOW MAWGIS BECAME A HERMIT 77

in my mind that in this matter you have theright and I the wrong.

”

So Roland mounted his horse, and Reynaudmounted on Bayard , and they rode away sideby side. When King Charles saw them hewas not a l ittle astonished, and leaping uponhis horse he cried aloud, “ Now Shall I seewho is on my side. ” And he hurried after thetwo knights, and many Frenchmen went withhim .

By this time the King, having been baulkedof his will once again, for he had counted it forcertain that Roland would overcome R eynaud

,

was yet more steadfastly determined not togive peace to the brethren ; therefore hebade Duke Richard of Normandy rideon and guard the crossing over the riverwhile he himself fol lowed with all the hostthat he could muster.So the King and his army came to Montalban and set up his tent before the great gatesof the castle . One came to Mawgis and said,“ The King is come with a great host

,and

has set up his tent before the great wall .Take no heed of this ,

” answered Mawgis ;

i f the King has done this thing he hasdone it to his own loss .When Reynaud knew of the matter he told

78 HOW MAWGIS BECAME A HERMIT

i t to Roland, and Roland said, I wil l nowsend to the King my uncle this message—thatReynaud has dealt with me right courteously ;also that he and his brethren and Mawgis willgive themselves and their castle into h is handsif only he will promise to save us al ive . ” “Youspeak well ,

” said Reynaud “ I am content todo this. ”

Then they doubted who should take thismessage to the K ing . At last i t was agreedthat the Duke of Naymes and Ogier the Daneshould take it. So these two went to the K ingwhere he sat in his tent before the great gatesof the castle.But the King hardened his heart, and would

not l isten to the Duke Naymes and Ogier.Nay more , he cried , “ Flee from this place,ye villains ! Reynaud shall have no peacewith me til l I have Mawgis to do with as Iwill . ” Then the Barons went back to thecastle and told how they had fared . Reynaudsaid

,

“ I wonder that the King is so hard ofheart. But Mawgis I will not give to him ;no

,not though I should die for i t. ”

Then they went to supper, and ate theirmeat with much cheerfulness . Supper be ingended

,Reynaud said to Mawgis,

“ Cous in ,I pray you to watch this night, for on this

HOW MAWGIS BECAME A HERMIT 79

hangs the l ives of us all . Sleep in peace,

answe red Mawgis,“ for all shall bewe ll. ”

When all the Barons were abed Mawgis

took Bayard out of his stable and rode to theKing’s camp. When he was come thitherhe cast upon all the host, by a charm thathe had , a very deep sleep. This done, hewent to the K ing’s tent and took him outof his bed and laid him across Bayard

,and

carried him,still sleeping, to Montalban .

Mawgis went to the chamber of Reynaudand said to him ,

“ Cousin , what would yougive me if I should del iver the King intoyour hands ? I would give you whatsoeveryou Shall ask, answered Reynaud .

“ Promiseme then that you will do him no harm , saidMawgis . Reynaud answered, “ I promise .

Then Mawgis led him to his own chamberand showed him the King asleep in his bed.

When Mawgis had del ivered the King toReynaud he went to the stable where he hadleft Bayard and rubbed the horse ’s back andhead with straw

,and kissed him , weeping the

while This done he put on him his pilgrim ’sgarb

,and having given the porter all the

clothing that he had, went forth from the gate .Mawgis journeyed till he came to the riverDordogne. This he crossed in a boat, and

80 HOW MAWGIS BECAME A HERMIT

having passed through a pine forest that wason the other side of the river, came to a wellwhereby there was a l ittle house with a springbefore the door, in which a hermit might conveniently dwell . Having entered the househe saw an oratory and in i t an image of Our

Lady,and when he had knelt down before it

he prayed that Our Lord would forgive himhis s ins . This done, he made a great vowthat he would abide in that place for the restof his l ife

,eating only such wild things as were

in the wood . This he‘

did thinking that if hewere away the K ing would make peace with

the brethren .

CHAPTER IX

OF WHAT BEFELL AT MONTALBAN

HERE was great trouble and wonderingwhen the brethren knew that Mawgis

was not in Montalban So they called theporter and asked him what he knew. Theporter said

,

“ S ir Mawgis went out on Bayard ;in a l ittle while he came back, having a man ofgreat stature on the horse ’s neck before him ,

and went into the castle . Then he came forthagain, poorly clad and on another horse. Morethan this I know not .When Richard heard this he gnashed histeeth for anger, saying, All this comes of thehatred that the K ing bears to us and to ourkindred . Fain would I slay him ,

” and hemade as if he would draw his sword from thescabbard. But the others held him back, andthey reasoned with him til l he had promised todo no hurt to the King.

82 OF WHAT BEFELL AT MONTALBAN

When they told what had happened toRoland and the other Barons. they were not al i ttle astonished , and Ogier the Dane said ,“ All this trouble comes through the K ing ’srage against the brethren

,for indeed it is

beyond all measure . But now I trust therewill be peace. I n very truth there has beenwar too long, and many good knights havebeen slain .

”

And now the charm that Mawgis had laidupon the K ing came to an end, and he wokeout of his sleep. And when he knew that hewas in the castle of Montalban , being awarethat th is was of Mawgis

’

s doing, he was yetmore angry than before, saying that thereshould be no peace till Mawg is should bedel ivered to h im .

When Richard heard him speak in thisfashion he said, Do you threaten us, S ire, inthis fashion

,being a prisoner and in our

power ? ” But Reynaud sa id , “ Be silent, mybrother ; let the King say what he will ;

’

tis

for us to pray that he make peace with us . ’

Then the brethren and all the knights anc

Barons that were there, whether of one part)or of the other

,fell upon their knees before the

King,and begged that he would make peace

but the King hardened his heart, saying


do you no hurt, for you are my sovereignlord .

When the King’

s Barons heard these wordsthey were not a l ittle astonished

,not thinking

that any man could deal so generously with hisenemy . As for Richard, he was greatly displeased , and said , “ Now have you let theenemy go ; I fear me much that we shall allpay for this i l l courtesy that you have shown tohim with our l ives . ” But Reynaud answered

,

Be silent, brother ; know that I will notcompel the K ing to do that which is againsthis will . And now depart from my sight

,for

your h igh words please me not. ”

Then Reynaud called to him a gentleman ofhis household , and said, Go now without anytarry ing to the yeoman that has charge of myhorses and bid him bring me Bayard . I willthat my sovereign lord should ride back uponhim to his camp ; better horse he could nothave. ” So the yeoman brought Bayard , andthe King mounted upon him and rode him tohis camp, where the Frenchmen very gladlyreceived him .

The King bade a squire take Bayard backto Montalban , whom, when Reynaud saw, hesaid to Roland and the other Barons , “ Mygood lords

,I know that the K ing is displeased

OF WHAT BEFELL AT MONTALBAN 85

with you for your love of me . Now thereforedepart and make

!

your peace with him . AS forme , if I have aught against you , I forgive itwith all my heart.When the Duke Naymes heard these words

,

he would have kneeled to Reynaud, but thisgood knight would not suffer it. Then saidthe Duke,

“ Surely it cannot but be that theK ing ’s heart will be softened when he shallhear how nobly Reynaud has borne himself inthis matter. ” You say well

,said the other

Barons .Then there were brought from the stablesRoland ’s horse and the horses of the others .When they were now mounted there cameforth from the palace the Lady Clare, and saidto them

,My lords , I do entreat you tomake

peace,if by any means it may be done ,

between the K ing and my husband, for indeedhe bears a large heart, as you very well know .

And the Duke Naymes answered, “ Lady, wewill do it if it may be . ”

SO he and his fellowstook their leave of Reynaud and the LadyClare with much sorrow, and rode to theKing’s camp.

The Barons made intercession to the Kingthat he would accord peace to Reynaud, but hewould not hear, but rather was more inflamed


with anger than before against him and hiskinsmen . First, he bade h is men make anassault upon the castle . This they did withgreat zeal , bringing engines wherewith to caststones and darts against i t, and setting laddersagainst the walls by which they cl imbed up tothe highest parts. But all these things availednothing, but rather turned to the damage ofthe King

’

s men , of whom many were woundedand slain .

When the King perceived that he could notprevail in this way he bade his men cease fromassaulting the castle , saying, I f I cannot takethe hold of these villains by force I will take itby hunger . He set therefore at every gatetwo hundred knights, who suffered no man togo out or enter in .

After a while there came to be a greatfamine in Montalban , so that a man could notbuy food for s ilver or gold , and not a fewperished with hunger.When knowledge of these things came to

the King’s ears he rejoiced greatly, saying toh is Barons

,

“ This time, methinks, Reynaudshall not escape me . By St. Denis , I willhang him

,and drag the false Richard at a

horse ’s tail,and deal with Alard and Guichard

in the same way.


he said, “What profits i t, uncle, to speak ofthat which is past and gone Besides this Ido not doubt that the kindness which my fathershowed to the King will turn some day to hisprofit . ”

When Richard heard the boy speak so wiselyhe took him in his arms and kissed him

,weep

ing the while , and said to Reynaud , Let myhorse be killed and given for meat to the LadyClare and to the young boys my nephews

,

and to others that have need . And so it wasdone .After a few days i t came to this , that Bayard

only of al l the horses was left al ive. Andwhen the brethren would have had him alsokilled for food , Reynaud withstood them,

saying that he would sooner die than that hishorse should be killed . Yet when the LadyClare besought him , and his children also, heyielded to them , saying that the horse shoulddie. So he went to the stable, that he mightdo this deed himself. Yet when he lookedupon Bayard

,and had called to mind how

many times the noble beast had save d his l ife,he repented h im of his purpose . Then hegave him a handful of hay , for indeed therewas nothing else that he could give , and wentback to the Lady Clare and his brethren and

OF WHAT BEFELL AT MONTALBAN 89

said,Endure till nightfall and you Shall have

meat. This I promise you ,” for he had a

purpose in his heart.Then he saddled Bayard, and came stealthily

to his father ’s tent, that was in the King’s camp

,

for he knew well where i t was .When Reynaud saw the Duke Aymon he

said to h im , For pity ’s sake, my father , give:

me food,for my wife and my children and my

brothers and all my people are dying of hunger.As I l ive there is but this horse Bayard that isleft to us . But the Duke answered , “ I havesworn an oath to the K ing that I will not giveyou any help by food or otherwise. ”

Reynaud said again , My father, have pityupon your own flesh , for such we are . TheKing does us great wrong when he persecutesus in this fashion .

When the Duke heard these words he wellnigh fel l into a swoon for pity . After a whilehe said

,

“ You say truly that the King doesyou wrong. Now, therefore, l ight off yourhorse and go into the tent, and take whatsoever you can find , nor shall any man say younay ; but for my oath

’s sake, I may not giveyou aught. ” So Reynaud went into the tent ,and took such things as he could find and laidthem on the back of Bayard, and carried them


to Montalban . That night they ate their meatin the castle with much gladness of heart.The next day the Duke Aymon called his

steward and said to h im ,

“ Take now the threeengines that the King commanded me to makefor assail ing the castle, and fi l l them , not withstones

,but with flesh , both salt and fresh , and

with loaves of bread , and with other v ictuals ,and cause that they discharge these things intothe castle . And the steward did as the Dukecommanded him .

When the K ing heard what the DukeAymon had done he was very angry, and sentfor him to his tent . And when the Duke camehe said to him , How are you so bold thatyou feed my mortal enemies . Verily you shal llose your head for it . ” The Duke answered ,S ire

,if you should burn me by fire yet will I

not fai l my children . They are no thieves ormurderers

,or traitors , but as good and true

knights as are in all the world .

”

When ‘ the K ing heard the Duke speak inthis sort

,he made as if he would have struck

him . But the Duke Naymes stood forth andsaid

,

“ Sire,I would counsel you to send the

Duke to his house. You cannot look for himto be with you in this matter, that he should seehis children die before his eyes . Then the


what he shou ld do . Then he bethought himof a thing that he might do

,He called for

a basin, and took blood from the horse, andthis being mixed with other th ings of whichthey had a l ittle he prepared a mess

,by which

the Lady Clare and the children were a l ittlesustained . This he did for four days

,but on

the fifth day the horse was grown so feeblethat there came no blood from him at all . Andnow it seemed as if all hope were gone .

Reynaud and his kindred and his house beingin these straits , there cam e an old man whowould speak with him .

“ Sir,” said he

,

“ youhave done as well as could have been done byany man in keeping this castle, but now youcan do no more . But l isten to me .

' I was atthe building of th is place many years ago , whenI was but a '

young child . And I mind me thatthe lord that builded it made a secret way bywhich a man might escape if he was so minded .

This way I will Show you, and you can departfrom th is place by it without danger .Reynaud was right glad to hear th is thing so

that he forgot h is hunger. Then he took hishorse

,which

,indeed

,could scarce stand for

feebleness,and all the folk that were left in the

castle ; and they entered the secret way thatthe old man Showed them . When they had

R EYNAUD AND BAYARD.

CHAPTER X

HOW PEACE WAS MADE

T happened about seven days after thesethings that the King rode by the castle

,for

he would fain know how the besieged fared.

When he could see no man on the walls, he wasnot a l ittle astonished, and going back straightway to the camp cal led his Barons together andtold them of this matter.The Duke Naymes said, We must find out

what has overtaken these people let us feignto make an assault. ” So they feigned to makean assault, but no man came forth to defend thecastle. Then the K ing said : “ They are alldead of hunger, and he commanded that along ladder should be set against the walls .By this certain of the Peers mounted, Rolandbeing first of all

,and after him Ogier the Dane

and Ol iver. But finding no man they des94

HOW PEACE WAS MADE 95

c ended on the other s ide and opened the gatesthat the King might come in .

So the King came in ; but when he sawneither man, woman , or child in the wholeplace he was much astonished . And as hesearched he found the secret way, which whenhe had seen he cried , “ This has that falseknave

”

Mawgis done . Verily he will break myvery heart for anger. But the Duke Naymes

answered, “ Not so, my lord ; this way hasbeen made many years. ”

Then by commandment of the King, Rolandand a company of men went by the secret waytil l he came to the Wood of the Serpent. Norwere there wanting signs that many peoplehad passed that way. So he returned to thecastle and told what he had seen to the King,and the King with his host tarried awhile inMontalban .

A messenger came to the King, with tid ingsof the brethren . He said that he had seenthem keeping a great court at the city Of

Ardennes, and that they had much treasurewith them

,and a great company.

When the King heard this he swore by St .Denys that he would not rest in his bed till hehad besieged Reynaud and his company. Sohe commanded his Barons that they should

96 HOW PEACE WAS MADE

make ready their baggage and march with allthe haste they could on to Ardennes

,and this

they did .

When Reynaud was aware of their cominghe swore a great oath that he would not sufferhimself to be besieged .

“ Rather,

” said he,

would I fight with the King in the Open fieldverily, i f by chance he should come into myhands I would not have pity on him as I didin past time . ” “ Now, my brother,

” saidRichard, “ you speak as a man ; if i t come tofighting I will not fail of my duty.

” AndGuichard and Alard said the same.Then Reynaud ordered his host in a very

skilful fashion , and mounting on Bayard rodetowards the van of the King’s army. Whenthe King saw him coming, he grew somad with rage that he was ready to fight withh im

,man to man . When the Duke Naymes

perceived this , he said, “ S ire, what mean youto do ? I t were folly to fight with these men .

Rather make peace with them . For whetherwe prevail or they, there were a grievous lossof brave men , such as shall never be re

covered .

” Have done with such counsel ,”

said the K ing, I had rather be torn in sunderthan make peace with these villains . Speak tome

,therefore

,no longer on this matter , but do

9s HOW PEACE WAS MADE

vailed. But when the sun began to move toits setting, Reynaud

’

s men began to give way,being fewer in number and spent with fighting.

Then Reynaud said to him that hear hisstandard , “ I t is time to rest, carry the standardhomeward .

When the King perceived this,he cried with

a loud voice, “ They fly ; follow them with all

Speed ; suffer them not to escape. This th ingwas the cause of no small damage ; for Reynaud and his brothers and the knights thatwere of his side turned upon them thatfollowed and slew many, and took prisonerRichard , Duke of Normandy. Him theycarried into Ardennes and shut to the gates.

Roland went to the King and said, “ Thebrethren have taken Duke Richard ; lest, therefore, he come to any harm , offer conditions ofpeace . Remember, Sire, that you have nowmade war upon the sons of Aymon for fifteenyears. Truly, had you done as much againstthe Saracens as you have done aga inst them

,

you had brought them by this time under theChristian faith .

The K ing said, “ Speak no more of peaceit shall not be save on conditions that youknow. As for the Duke Richard they will notdare to harm him .

”

HOW PEACE WAS MADE 99

So the King laid siege against the ‘ city,and

brought up great engines of war against i t,

expecting that Reynaud would del iver i t intohis hands , for he thought that by this time hisstrength must be well-nigh spent. But whenmany days had gone by, and there came nomessenger from the town , he began to doubtwithin himself. So he called his lords together

,

and said to them,

“ I t troubles me that wehave no tidings of Duke Richard .

” Rolandanswered, “ Sire, I marvel that you do notperceive the truth . The Duke Richard weshall never see again , unless you make peacewith Reynaud and his brethren .

”

When the King had cons idered the matterawhile, knowing that Roland had spoken truth ,he said, “ Go now, three of you , to wit, DukeNaymes, Ogier the Dane, and Roland, withol ive branches in your hands, and say to him ,

‘ Thus saith the King, del iver to me Mawgis

into my hands,and I will give you peace ; you

and your brothers shall have your lands again,and your two sons I will receive at my court,and I will make them knights with my own

The three Barons went, with Ol ive branchesin their hands

,and del ivered the King

’

smessage to Reynaud . He answered , “ My

I oo HOW PEACE WAS MADE

lords, I am glad with all my heart to see you ;nevertheless I marvel much at the King’smessage . He demands that I shall give overMawgis to him . Now al l the world knowsthat I have not Mawgis to give or not to give .Truly I have lost him, and better friend orkinsman never was, by the King

’s cruelty andhardness of heart . Return therefore to theKing and say,

‘Mawgis I have not to give,nor would I give him if I had . As for theDuke Richard, I will hang him to-morrow overthe ch ief gate at Ardennes. ’ And you, comeno more on such an errand to me . I promiseyou that if any man come hereafter with sucha message from the King, I will smite off hisheadf

’

So the three Barons returned to the King, andtold him the words of Reynaud . And Rolandsaid

,

“ Sire,take i t not ill, i f I tell you that for

your pride you will cause the Duke Richard todie. These sons of Aymon are the bestknights in all the world, and they have askedpeace of you , not once only but many times ,and you have hardened your heart againstthem The other Peers spake to the sameintent. But the King would not l isten tothem .

“ Not so , said he,“ they will not

dare to hurt the Duke ; verily, if they do such


head as k il led him outright. After th is he tooka rook from the board , and gave another yeoman such a stroke that his skull was broken ;to a third he dealt a great blow with his fistand slew him . The others seeing how theirfel lows had fared, fled forthwith out of thechamber. Then the Duke said to Yonnet,“ My child, you are fairly mated ; as for thesefel lows they are drunken , I take it, to use me insuch a fashion but they have had their deserts ,

”

and he cal led to a servant that was there,say

ing, Cast now these churls out of the window,

”

and the man cast them out, fearing much , lesthe should be dealt with in the same way.

When Reynaud and his brethren heard whatthe Duke had done, they went to his chamberin great wrath , and said, Why have you slainmy yeomen ? ” The Duke answered, “ Therecame to my chamber ten churls saying that youhad given commandment that I should behanged , a thing which I could in no wisebel ieve . For this cause I drave them out ofmy chamber, slaying some of them—I knownot how many. Now if I have done amissyou can do to me what you will. But I judgethe matter thus, that if these churls suffered atmy hand the blame l ies rather at the door ofthem that sent them on this errand.

HOW PEACE WAS MADE m

Reynaud said in great wrath , Bel ieve it orno, as you will , but I am steadfastly purposedto have you hanged before the eyes of theKing and his army. And he caused theDuke to be bound.

When the Duke perceived that Reynaud wastruly purposed to deal with him in this fashion

,

he said , Suffer me now to send a messengerto the King.

” “ You shall send him,

” saidReynaud . So the Duke sent a messengerbearing two messages , to the King one, andanother to the Peers . To the King he said ,“ I pray you , S ir, i f you ever loved me, to makepeace with Reynaud. I f he have done aughtamiss against you I will be his surety, and willanswer for him that he shall make amends .To the Peers he said, Show now to the Kingthat if he suffer me thus to die, he shall dohimself such dishonour as shall never be doneaway.

When these messages were del ivered (butthe King knew not that Richard had sent tothe Peers)there was great debate, for the Kinghardened his heart as he had done before, andthe Peers were urgent with him that he shouldturn from his anger. And the strife betweenthem waxed so hot that the Peers departedfrom the King

,taking their men with them,


so that day the K ing’s host was made thesmaller by forty thousand men.

When the messenger came back with thesetidings, how that the K ing was stil l hardenedbut that the Peers had departed from him

,

Reynaud was greatly moved, and turning toDuke Richard he said , “ I pray you

,my good

cousin , pardon me for the great Shame that Ihave done you .

” The Duke answered, “ Iblame you not . Rather do I blame the Kingfor his cruelty and hardness of heart . ThenReynaud caused him to be unbound , and said ,Stand here by me, my cousin, and we will seewhat the King will do .

And now the King was at last brought to abetter mind

,for he said to a knight that waited

on him,

“ Ride now as fast as you may, andwhen you come to the Peers tell them that I wil ll isten to their counsel . ” So the knight rodewith all speed , and when he had overtaken thePeers he del ivered to them the King ’s message.And they came back to the camp .

The King said, “ Go now to Reynaud andsay to him

,

‘ The King gives you peace onthese conditions . You shall go in pilgrim

’sgarb to the Holy Land, and on foot, beggingyour bread. You Shall leave me your horseBayard. On the other hand , I will restore toyour brothers all their lands.


garments and clad herself poorly, saying, “Thiswill I wear ti l l my lord shall. come again inpeace.As for Reynaud , his brethren and DukeRichard of Normandy and many others wentwith him a long way. But he said after awhile, “ My friends, you make my going theharder to me ; I were better alone. Returnnow to Ardennes and comfort my wife andmy chi ldren .

”

So they took leave of him with many tears

CHAPTER XI

OF REYNAUD'

S END

T must now be told in a few words whatReynaud did in the Holy Land, and what

befel l him afterwards.First, then, when he was come to the city of

Constantinople, he l ighted by chance on hiscousin Mawgis, who was lying sick in a certainhouse. So much did Mawgis rejoice to seeReynaud , that he was straightway made wholeof the sickness that he had . Then the twowent on together, and coming to J erusalem ,

did excellent service for the true faith , del ivering the city out of the hand of the Sultan ofPersia, who had taken it by treachery.

This done the two departed, for they wouldnot take any reward

,and came to Rome.

There they confessed their sins to the Pope ,and having received absolution, made their waywith all the speed they could to the c ity of

108 OF REYNAUD ’S END

Ardennes, where the brethren and all thepeople received them gladly.

Reynaud said, “ I marvel much that I seenot here either my wife or my children .

Richard answered, “ Your sons are atMontalban in all health and prosperity.

”

“ That is well,” said Reynaud

,but perceiving

that his brethren were troubled , he bade themtell h im the truth , for “ I see

,said he

,

“ thatyou have heavy tidings . Then said Alard,We may not hide from you that your wife,the Lady Clare, is dead . For when you left,she sorrowed continually, weeping both byday and by night, and so wasted a way thatshe died.

Reynaud said, “ Take me now to the placewhere you buried her. ” So they took himto the church wherein was her sepulchre. Ashe stood there weeping, there came to him hischildren, for they had been brought fromMontalban , and kneeled down before him .

And Reynaud kissed them and said , See thatyou be good men, for I fear that I shall not belong with you .

”

Ten days afterwards he and his two sonsand Mawgis departed from Ardennes, andcame to Montalban. As for Mawgis, he re

turned to the Hermitage where he had dwelt

I I Q OF REYNAUD’S END

told in this place. Let i t suffi ce to say thatthey prospered exceedingly.Now must be told the end of Reynaud .

When he saw that his sons were well established in dignity, he departed from Montalbanand journeyed to the city of Cologne, i n whichc ity there was now in course of building a veryfair church . He sa id to the master-mason,Let me now serve the masons with suchthings as they need .

” The master-mason said,“ S ir, you are more l ike to a king than a labourer,and i t shames me to set you to such work .

”

Reynaud answered, “ Say not so ; I w ill servewith a good will . And the man was wel lcontent to have it so.

After a while, the master-mason said to him ,

See you those poor men that seek to carry astone yonder ? Go you and help them, forthey are but weakl ings . ” So Reynaud wenthe said to the men , “ Go and do what else isappo inted of you, for I will deal with this stone.

”

So he carried the stone to its place, though itwere of such a bigness that four men couldscarcely handle it. And after this he fetchedother stones and mortar, and these in suchplenty that the masons had much ado to dealwith them .

When it was evening the masons came to be

OF REYNAUD’

S END I I I

paid,and each man ’s wage was five pennies.

But when the master-mason saw Reynaud,he

said, “ You shall have twenty pence,for you

have laboured so as I have never seen anyman labour. And you shall have as muchevery day. Nay,

” answered Reynaud,

“ give me one penny only, that I may havewherewithal to keep me, for I work not forwages, but for the love of my God.

Then Reynaud found a lodging in the town,

and bought for himself one pe‘nnyworth ofbread

,and of this and some water he made his

supper. The next day he went to his work,and this he did many days, taking for hiswage but one penny only.But the other masons grew jealous of h im,

because that he was much better and strongerthan they. So they laid a plot against him,

and on a certain day when he slept they slewhim

,and having put his body into a sack

,they

cast it into the river.Of the marvellous things that happened inrespect of this said Reynaud

,they that will

may read elsewhere. Let it suffice to say inthis place that the body was found after certaindays and was honourably buried in the churchof Cologne

,and that year by year a feast is

held in the memory of the Lord Reynaud ,

1 12 OF REYNAUD ’S END

for indeed he was a very perfect,gentle

knight.And now it remains only to tel l of the horse

Bayard that was del ivered, as has been said, tothe King. When the host, returning to Paris ,came to the river Meuse, a millstone was tiedabout his neck , and he was cast into the river.Some have said that this was done by command of the K ing ; but this is not a thing tobe bel ieved. I n any case, the good horse wasnot harmed, for he brake with his feet thestone from off his neck, and swimming tothe shore

,escaped to the forest of Ardennes ,

where he l ived for many years, but sufferedneither man nor woman to come near him.

1 14 HOW RALPH ENTERTAINED THE KING

these parts—my house is seven miles henceand I earn my bread with no l i ttle toil , sell ingcoals to such as need them . Friend,

” saidthe King, “ I mean you no ill , for I judgeyou to be an honest man.

” “ Judge as youwill , answered Ralph , “ I care not . “ I amin sore need of a friend, said the King ;

“ forboth my horse and I are ready to perish , thestorm is so fierce. Tell me then where I canfind shelter. ” Shelter ! ” said Ralph , “ Iknow of none, save in my own cottage, andthat is far hence in the forest. But to thatyou are welcome, if you care to come withme .The King was right glad to hear these

words . “ That is well , said he , Godreward you for your goodness . Nay,answered the churl , “ keep your thanks tillthey have been earned . As yet you havehad from me nothing, neither fire , nor meat,nor dinner, nor resting-place To-morrowwhen you go you can thank me, i f you be sominded, with better reason. To praise first, and,may be

,to blame afterwards—that is contrary

to sense. ” So shall it be , said the King.

So they went their way, talking as they went .When they were come to the house Ralph

called with a loud ‘

voice to his wife, “ Are you

How RALPH ENTERTAINED THE KING 1 15

within , dame ? Come out, open the doorwithout delay. My guest and I are shiveringwith cold ; such evil weather I have neverseen ” The good wife, when she heard hermaster’s voice, made all haste to the door,knowmg that he was a man of a hastytemper. “ You are welcome home, said sheto Ralph ; and to the stranger,

“ You arewelcome also.

” Kindle a great fire,” said

Ralph , “ and take two capons of the best,that we may have good cheer,

” and he tookthe King by the hand, and would have himgo before him into the house . But the Kingstood back by the door, and would have thecharcoal -burner pass in before him .

“ Thatis ' but poor courtesy,

” said the man, and tookhim by the neck and pushed him in .

‘

When they had warmed themselves awhileby the fire, which was blazing in right royalfashion, Ralph cried to his wife, “ Let us havesupper, Gill ian , as quickly as may be, and ofthe best, for we have had a toilsome day,and may wel l have a merry night . Neverhave I suffered worse weather or been sonear to losing my way as when I met withthis stranger here .

I n no long time, when they had washedthemselves, the supper was ready .

“ Now,

116 HOW RALPH ENTERTAINED THE KING

friend, said Ralph , “ take the dame by thehand , and lead her to the board . And whenthe King held back, he cried , “ Now this isthe second time ,

” and smote h im suddenlyunder the ear with his right hand

,so strongly

that he staggered half across the chamber,and fel l to the ground . When the King rose,and indeed he could scarcely stand, “ Now,

Gillian , said Ralph , “ take him by the handand go to the table as I bid you . To hisguest he said , “ Now this is the second timethat you have been lacking in courtesy, firstby the door, and then at the table . Willyou not do as you are bid ? Am not I themaster of my own house ? ” The King saidto himself,

“ These are strange doings .Never ha ve I been so dealt with in allmy l ife. Nevertheless for peace

’ sake hedid as he was bid , and giving his hand tothe dame , led her to the table . So theysat

,the charcoal -burner on one side of the

table,and the King and dame Gillian on the

other. Right good cheer they had , fat capons ,and bread

,and wine of the best . Truly they

wanted for nothing.

Said the churl to the K ing, “ S ir, theforesters in this place threaten me muchabout the deer. They say that I

‘

am ever

1 18 HOW RALPH ENTERTAINED THE KING

making, and that without doubt he would sel lh is fuel to great advantage . You seem totalk reason , said Ralph , “ I wil l come. Andnow let us have another cup

,and so to bed .

So the collier and the dame led him to anotherchamber, where there was a bed handsomelyfurnished , and closed in with curta ins . Whenthey saw that he was well served and had allthat he needed, they bade him good-night,and the King thanked them for their courtesy.The next day as soon as it was l ight, theK ing rose from the bed and dressed himselfwithout help

,for, indeed, he had neither valet

nor squire . Then his palfrey was brought tohim , which when he had mounted, he calledto Ralph , where he lay, for he would takehis leave in friendly fashion , as was fitting inone that had had such good cheer. When thechurl was roused , he said to the King, “ Nowtarry awhile til l this evil weather be ended .

”

“ Nay,

” answered the K ing, “ I must needsto my work and office ; Yuletide is now athand

,and he that is found wanting will be

greatly blamed. And now call thy goodW ife that I may pay her for the shelter andgood cheer that I have had .

“ Nay,” cried

Ralph,

“ that shal l never be ; to think that Ishould take pay for sheltering one that is of

HOW RALPH ENTERTAINED THE KING 1 19

the Court of the K ing Charles ! So be it,

”

answered the King ; “ but at least if you willnot take pay, come to the Court with a loadof fuel as soon as may be ; I warrant that ifyou will do so, you will make good profit ofyour goods. ” “ That will I ,

” answered Ralph .

I would fain see how coals sell at court .And now tell me your name once more

,lest I

forget it .”

Then the King rode away, nor had hetravelled long when Roland and Ol iver, witha thousand men after them, met him . Theyhad come forth to search for him , and rightglad were they to find him . So they turnedtheir horses ’ heads and journeyed back toParis . When they were near the town ,Turpin the Archbishop came forth from thegates to meet them with a great company ofbishops and priests and others giving thanksto God that their lord the King was comeagain to Paris . And when they had come toParis

,they went to the Church of St. Denis,

where there was service . And after servicethey went to the Palace, and kept their Yulefeast with much mirth and plenty of goodthings. For one-and-twenty days did theyfeast . Never had such a Yuletide been keptin the land of France.

CHAPTER XI I I

HOW RALPH WENT TO COURT

HE next day, Ralph , having thoughtmuch on what he had undertaken ,

loaded his mare, as he was wont to do, withtwo panniers full of coals , and made ready tostart on his journey to the court. “ This isnot of my counsel

,

” said Gillian his wife ;“t his

journey will not be to your profit. Rememberthe shrewd blow that you deal t him . Keepfrom the Court

,say I . “ Nay, Gill ,

” said theCharcoal-burner, “ I must have my way. Ipromised that I would go

,and go I will

,

whether my going be for profit or for harm .

”

So he loaded the panniers and went his wayto the Court.Meanwhile K ing Charles had not forgotten

the matter . He called Roland to him , for,indeed, there was no man whom he trustedmore, and said to him ,

“ To-morrow morning

12 2 HOW RALPH WENT TO COURT

of them , whether i t be morning or night. I fyou are in mind to trick me

, I can hold myown , for all that I ami l l-clad .

“ This is butfool ishness, said Roland , “ the King hasstraightly commanded that you should bebrought to him .

” “ Nay, answered Ralph,I am on my way, according to promisemade to one Wymond , and to h im I willgo and to none other.” Have done withyour Wymond ,

” cried Roland , “ I must takeyou to the King as the K ing has commanded .

So they wrangled a long time, and stillthe churl was firmly set that he would go toWymond and to none other . “ And wheredwells th is Wymond of yours ?

” said Roland .

He dwells with the Queen at Paris, i f histale be true .

” I f that be so, answeredRoland

,

“ seeing that I know well the Queenand her ladies, and you are on your way tothem

,I will trust to your going. Only you

must give me a pledge that this is tru ly yourpurpose .

” “ Nay,” said the Charcoal-burner,

I will pledge you no pledge. And as foryou

,get you out of my way, or i t wil l be

the worse for you.

Roland said to himself, “ Now this is butfolly to dispute any longer with this fellow.

”

HOW RALPH WENT TO COURT 123

And he took his leave of the man fullpleasantly. But Ralph liked not such ways ;for he thought that this knight that was so

gaily clad had him in scorn .

“ Come hither,

S ir Knight, to morrow when we can be alonetogether

,you and I surely you shall see how

I w il l deal with you.

”

Then Roland rode back to the King. Bythis time Mass was ended , and the King hadput on his robes. “ You are well come, SirRoland, said he, “have you done my errand ? ”

Sire,answered S ir Roland, “ I went as you

gave me commandment, and watched the ways,but saw no man , but one only.

” And whowas this one ? ” asked the King.

“ He,” said

Roland, “ was but a churl that had with himtwo panniers of coal . ” “ Why did you notbring this said churl to me, as I bid you ? I tmay be you durst not . ”

Roland saw that the K ing was wroth , andwas not a l ittle glad to go forth from his presence. Go ing forth he met a porter, “Whithergo you

,lazy loon said he. Said the porter

,

There is one at the gate, a churl that hasa mare and two panniers of coals, and heclamours to be let in at the gate “Whomdoes he want ? ” sa id Roland . The porteranswered , “ He asks for one Wymond .

”

124 HOW RALPH WENT TO COURT

Then Roland said , “ Go back to your place,

porter, and open the gate and bid—

him enter.But say that it does not l ie with in your officeto go to this

'

Wymond, but that he musthimself seek him .

”

So the porter went back to the gate andOpened it, saying to the Charcoal-burner,“ Enter, man ; but I have no leisure to seekfor this Wymond for whom you ask . Youmust seek him yourself. Said Ralph

,

“ I fyou will not seek the man , I must needs doit myself ; see you then that no harm cometo the mare and the coals, and I will look forWymond, for certainly it was he that bade mecome hither. ”

So the Charcoal-burner went his way throughthe palace asking for Wymond . There wasnot one that knew the man , or had so muchas heard the name . They seemed to Ralphto lack courtesy ; nevertheless he would notcease from his quest, nor was there any oneof whom he failed to inquire. After he hadpassed through many chambers he came toone that was more splendid than all that hehad seen before . I t was a great hall finelypainted and hung about with tapestries, andthere the King sate at dinner in great state .On the table were many dainties , and there

HOW RALPH WENT TO COURT 125

was a store of dishes, both silver and gold ,and many other adornments . Here is royaltyenough , cried Ralph .

“ I f I could only havespeech with Wymond , I would away , forthis methinks is no place for a simple man .

”

And stil l he went on . Many sought to puthim back, for he seemed to press on in anunmannerly fashion ; but he was a stalwartman that gave as much as he took.

At last, after not a l ittle trouble , he camenear to the King, where he sat in state atthe table. See, he cried, that is Wymond,

yonder,the man whom I seek . Well do I

know him , though , indeed, he is otherwiseclad than when I last saw him . Now he is incloth of gold . Truly he must be some greaterman than he said . Alas , that I have beenwiled hither. Truly this man has beguiledme .

” When the King heard this he laughed .

Ralph looked about on the company thatsat with the King, for many worshipful menwere there . But when he saw the Queen

,

then he was greatly troubled .

“ Lady,” he

said , “ I am sorely troubled to see your fineattire

,so splendid

‘

is it. Now if I can butescape hence th is day, nothing in the wholeworld shall bring me hither again .

”

And now, dinner being over, the King rose

HOW RALPH WENT TO COURT

from the table ; and he told be fore the wholecompany how he had fared with the Charcoalburner. The churl quaked as he heard thetale. And he said , “Would I were on themoor again this very hour, and the Kingalone, or any one of his knights , be he thebravest and strongest of them all. ”

Then the lords laughed aloud. Some,

h owever, were angry, and would have hadthe man hanged.

“What is this churl , saidthey,

“ that he should so misuse the King ?But Charles would have none of such doings .He is a stalwart man , and can strike a hardblow. Heaven forbid that I should harm him.

Rather will I make h im a knight. ” So hedubbed Ralph the Charcoal -burner a knight,and gave him a revenue of 300 by the year,and “ the next fee in France that shall comeinto my hands

,that ,

” said he, “ will I give you.But now you must win your spurs .

”

So theKing gave him his armour and arms, and sixtysquires of good degree to be his company.

And Ralph was in after time . a very perfect,noble knight, and did good service to the

K ing.

128 HOW FIERABRAS DEFIED KING CHARLES

from the place till he should have done battlewith some Christian man ; but stil l no onecame forth to h im . Then he cried with a veryloud and terrible voice, King of Paris , sendout to me your strongest and bravest knight

,

be he Roland, or Ol iver, or Thierry, or Ogierthe Dane, that he may fight with me. Nay,and if you will send out against me six orseven of your strongest knights , I swear bymy god Mahomet that I will not refuse tofight with them all . But if you will not sendout any man , then I wil l assuredly assail yourcamp before nightfal l th is very day, and strikeoff your head

,and lead away Roland and

Ol iver as prisoners. You have come into thismy land without cause, and verily you shalldepart without honour. ”

When he had thus spoken he lay downunder a tree , and having tied his horse toone of the boughs , took off his armour. Thisdone

,he cried to the K ing, Send now Roland

or Ol iver to fight with me . And if these darenot come alone then let two others cometogether with them ; and if the four be afraidlet s ix come . Ten kings have I slain alreadyin s ingle combat ; there was not one of them,

for all that they were mighty men of valour,that could stand against me .

HOW FIERABRAS DEFIED KING CHARLES 129

When King Charles heard these threateningsand challenges he said to Richard of Normandy

,

Who is this knight that speaks so boldly ?Duke Richard answered, “ This

,my lord

King, is the strongest of all men born ofwomen , and he is persuaded that there is noking in the whole world that is a match forhim .

”

“ For all that, said the king, “ I will findone of my knights that shall encounter him .

But tell me his name. ”

“ H is name,” answered Duke Richard , “ is

Fierabras. He is an infidel , and has donemuch harm to Christian men . For he slewour lord the Pope , and hanged many holymen and women, and to this day he holdspossession of the holy Sepulchre of our Lord .

“ I am the more firmly resolved,” said the

King,

“ hearing what you say, that one of myknights shall meet him .

” Thereupon heturned to Roland and said, “ I pray you,dear nephew, go forth and meet this Turkin battle . ”

But Roland answered him,

“ Not so, fairuncle ; why should I do your bidding in thismatter ? Do you hear in mind what happenedbut yesterday

,when we were so near to being

taken by the heathen , how they fell upon usI O


with fifty thousand men and how we theyounger knights bore the burden and bruntof the day and suffered many grievous wounds

,

so that Ol iver my comrade was brought nearto death , and indeed, but for your help, wehad all perished ? And do you rememberfurther how last n ight, when we were restingin our tents , you, being full of wine, declaredstoutly that your old knights would have bornethemselves better than we of the younger sorthad done ? Now it shall be seen how thesesaid old knights shall stand up against thisheathen man , for indeed of the younger noone will go forth against him .

When the King heard this he smote Rolandhis nephew in the face with his gauntlet sosharply that the blood gushed out abundantly.Thereupon Roland drew his sword and wouldhave smitten his uncle had he not been heldby the bystanders. And the King cried, “Now

,

this is a most monstrous thing for any man,much more a kinsman . Seize him , for he shalldie the death for this wickedness . ” But whenthe courtiers made as if to lay hands upon himRoland cried , “ Now, i f any man touch me Iwill cleave h is head in two.

” Nor did anyman dare to come near him . But Ogier theDane said

,Now, Roland, you did ill to

132 HOW FIERABRAS DEFIED KING CHARLES .

wil l compass your own death . Ol iver answered,“ Do my bidding, for this is

’ an occasion ofhonour that no man should miss .” So Ol iverput on his armour, Garin helping him . Thisdone, he took his sword, Hautclerc by name,which he loved above all th ings . Then theybrought him Ferraunt his horse, ready saddledand bridled. And Ol iver leapt l ightly into thesaddle without so much as touching it, and puthis shield into place, and took a spear very

horse with his spurs, and Ferraunt l eapt up

Ol iver rode up to the K ing’s tent and saluted

him,saying,

“ My lord, I have served youfaithfully for these three years past withoutreward or wages. I pray you, therefore, thatyou give me th is day the thing I shall desireof you .

” The King answered, “ Most noble

is not in this land of France a city or townor castle that I will not give you at yourdesire. ” But Ol iver said , “ My lord King, Iask neither towns nor castles, but only thisthat you suffer me to do battle with this

paganfi’

When the other knights heard this they

HOW FIERABRAS DEFIED KING CHARLES 133

were not a l ittle shamed that a wounded manshould take up the challenge

,while they them

selves held back . What is this,

” they said,

“ that Ol iver, who was hurt well-nigh todeath , would now go forth to battle As forthe King, he said, “ Now, Ol iver, you havesurely lost your wits . You know that youhave been sorely wounded, and yet you willrun into a worse danger. Go back to yourbed and rest ; assuredly I will not suffer youto do battle with this pagan .

Then Ganelon, who was afterwards thetraitor, rose up in h is place and said, “ S ir

,

this is against the custom of France that youshould deny Ol iver his request .” The K ingwas very angry and said, Ganelon

,you are

not well disposed in this matter. I f this be asyou say, then Ol iver shall fight with this pagan ,and if he fight, then he

! can hardly escapedeath . But mark you this : I swear by myfaith that if he be slain or taken in this battle

,

then not al l the gold in the world can save youfrom a shameful death aye

,and all your house

shall perish with you .

“ S ir K ing,” said Ganelon, may God and

Our . Lady keep me ! but to himself he saidsecretly

,

“ Now God forbid that Ol iver shouldcome back safe . Rather may this pagan smite


off his head ! ” But when King Charles sawthat he could not hinder Oliy er from doingbattle with Fierabras , he said, “ Now mayGod be with you, and help you, and bringyou back with joy ! ” and he reached to himhis g love, which Ol iver took with muchpleasantness and humil ity.

But Reyner, that was father to Ol iver, whenhe saw his son ready to go forth , came to theK ing, and knelt down at his feet, and cried insore trouble , “ Now, my lord King, have pityon my son and me . He is young and presumptuous , ful l of pride and ambition , but sosorely wounded that he cannot fight ; forbidhim

,therefore, to go forth .

” But the K ingsaid to Reyner, “What I have given I maynot withdraw ” Then Ol iver stood up andspake with a loud voice, “ Sir King and all

you lords of France, if I have offended anyman in word or deed, I pray him to forgiveme. ” There was not a man but wept to hearthese words . The King himself wept, andcommended him to the keeping of God.

Ol iver rode forth and came to the tree whereFierabras lay at ease and unarmed . The giantdid not so much as look at him, but turnedaway his head , for he despised Ol iver as beingbut l ittle of stature in comparison with himself.


me now thy name and lineage. Ol iveranswered, “ My name is Garin, and I am a

poor knight ; King Charles has sent me to dobattle with you ; make ready, therefore, forbattle.” But Fierabras would not consent.Now tell me, Sir Garin ,

” said he, “ whyRoland, or Ol iver, or Ogier the Dane, who areall , men say, of high renown , have not comeout against me. They have not come,

”

answered Ol iver, “ because they think toomeanly of you .

”

This he said with such vehemence that hiswounds opened again . When Fierabras saw theblood he said , “ Are you perchance wounded ,S ir Garin ? ” “ Not I , answered Ol iver ;

“ thisblood that you see comes from my horse whereI spurred him .

” But Fierabras saw that theblood was not from the horse and said Youspeak no truth when you say that you are nothurt. This is no horse ’s blood but of yourown body th at I see. Now drink of thisflagon of balm that I took from the city ofJ erusalem . When you have drunken youshall be whole in body, and then you shallbe fit to defend yourself in battle. ” But Ol iverwould have none of it. “ This, said he,

“ isbut folly.

”

CHAPTER XV

HOW OLIVER FOUGHT WITH FIERABRAS

IERABRAS , seeing that he must needsfight, said to Ol iver “ Come now, help

me to arm myself. Said Ol iver, “ Can Itrust you ? “ Yea , answered Fierabras ,“ that can you : never have I been traitor toany man, nor ever will.

” So Ol iver armedhim ; he helped him to don first a suit ofleather of Arabia and after this a coat andhabergeon of steel , and an helmet richlygarnished with jewels for his head . Wasever such courtesy in this world, Ol iver helpingthis pagan to arm , whom , being unarmed, hemight full easily have slain , and the paganhaving pity upon Ol iver as not being hismatch in fighting and all the more when hesaw that he had been wounded ? Would thatthere were more of such courtesy betweenChristian men !When he was armed, Fierabras took the

137

138 HOW OLIVER FOUGHT WITH FIERABRAS

three swords that he had, P leasance andBaptism and Grabon, all being of so fine atemper that there was no armour made butthey could break through i t. The three weremade by one of three brothers another ofthesethree made three more , of which Durendal,

the sword of Roland , was the most famous ;and yet another brother also made three

,of

which it suffices to name Hautclere that wasthe sword of Ol iver, and J oyous that was oneof the chief treasures of King Charles . On

his shield he had the image of his god,Apollyon to wit, to whom when he hadcommended himself, he yet once again besought Ol iver to depart. And when Ol iverhad again refused, saying that he trusted toprevail by the help of his God, Fierabras saidto him

,Now as you are a Christian man, I

adjure you by the font wherein you werebaptized and by the cross to which your Godwas nailed

,to tell me truly your name and

l ineage. ”

Ol iver answered, “ You could not haveadjured me by greater things than this samefont and cross ; know therefore that I am

Ol iver, the son of Reyner, close comrade ofRoland

,and one of the Twelve Peers of

France.


when they smote on the shields,and that the

shafts of both were broken . The reins droppedfrom their hands , and they were both so astoniedthat they scarce knew where they were. Butthen coming to themselves they drew eachman his sword . And first Ol iver with Hautclere smote Fierabras so fiercely on the helmetthat he shore off a great portion of it , and thej ewels wherewith i t was garnished fell to theground . Nor was the force of the blow yetspent : i t reached the giant’s shoulder, but thecuirass which was of stout leather of Cappadocia

,stayed it ; nevertheless the giant

’s feetwere thrust out of the stirrups, and he camevery near to being overthrown . And all themen of France cried with one voice, BlessedMary

,what a mighty stroke has Ol iver dealt

to th is pagan ! ” “ ’Tis true,” said Roland,

“ would I were with him this day ! ” ThenF ierabras

,i n his turn , smote Ol iver with his

sword Pleasance on the helmet . From thehelmet it glanced down and grievously woundedthe Christian’s horse . Then Ol iver was not al ittle dismayed, and commended himself to Godand the Virgin . Which , when Fierabras heard,he sa id

,I am ill content to have so hurt you.

Hardly shal l you see the sun set this day, foralready you grow faint. But this has befallen

HOW OLIVER FOUGHI WITH FIERABRAS 141

you because you are already wounded . Bewise therefore and leave the battle while thereis yet time. ” But Ol iver would have none ofsuch counsel . Therefore they fel l to fightingagain, and this so fiercely that the armour ofthe two of them was well - nigh broken top ieces.When the K ing saw this, and perceived that

Ol iver was in no l ittle danger, he was greatlytroubled . He prayed aloud, saying, O LordGod

,now keep the val iant Ol iver, that he be

not slain or taken. Verily, if aught h appen tohim, I swear by my father

’s soul that I Wil lburn every monastery and church and altar inthe land .

” But the Duke Naymes rebuked theKing, saying, “ Speak not thus, 'S ir King.

Rather pray to God that of H is goodness Hewill help Ol iver. ” And the King Sa id, “ You

are right ; I spake fool ishly .

”

Meanwhile the two champions continued tofight fiercely, more fiercely than befitted

prudent or experienced warriors. Ol iverespecially was so carried out of himself thathis hand grew num b with the frequency ofhis blows

,and at last his sword flew out of

his h and . Straightway he ran to regain it,putting his shield over his head to cover himself from the enemy’s blows . But this did not


avail him , for Fierabras smote twice on theshield, and so mightily that h ! brake it intopieces, and the breastplate under i t also. AndOl iver durst not go forward to take up hissword, for he feared greatly what the giantmight do to him . When the men of Francesaw in what straits he was, they made as ifthey would arm themselves and go to his help.

But this K ing Charles would not suffer. “ Notso ,

” said he “ God can save him and maintainhim in the right , and He wil l do so.

”

Then the others abode in their place. Butnow Fierabras began to j eer and scoff atOl iver, Now I know that you are vanquished ,for you dare not put out your hand to takeyour sword for fear of me ; no, you would notstoop to the ground to gain the wealth of thewhole world . Now hearken to me if you willdeny your faith and declare that your God is nogod

,and bel ieve in Mahomet, then I will give

you my sister Floripas in marriage, than whomthere is no fairer maid upon earth , and we twowill conquer France or ever this year shallhave passed

,and I will make you King of one

half of this realm .

”

Ol iver answered, NowGod forbid that I should l isten to such folly.

These your gods are no gods at all, and haveno goodness or strength . Fierabras said, “ I


by the s ide of any man l iving upon earth .

Then he said to Ol iver, “ You are,I we! !

know, an honourable knight. Come, now,take

your own sword and give to me that which ismine.

” “ Not so,” answe red Ol iver ; “ I wil l

make no agreement with you , save this : thatI will do my best to slay you, and you shall dothe same with me .

And when he had said this , Ol iver ran atFierabras as fiercely as a l ion that leaps uponits prey. Nor was Fierabras slow to meethim . I ndeed, he smote him so stoutly that hebrake through his helmet, wounding the knight

’shead . Seeing this he cried, “ Now you arewounded, S ir Ol iver. Never more shall yousee King Charles or Roland so shal l I at lasthave my desire . ” But Ol iver answered, “ Benot so proud nor boast overmuch . I have agood confidence that I shal l either slay you orconquer you .

” Then he made a feint to strikethe pagan on the head and Fierabras, raisinghis sh ield over high to cover himself from theblow

,left his s ide unguarded, which Ol iver,

quickly perceiving, drove his sword with all

his might into the pagan ’s side. And the manfell with the blow

,so mighty was it, for Ol iver

dealt i t with all h is strength that so he mightput an end to the fight .

CHAPTER XVI

HOW OLIVER AND OTHERS WERE TAKEN

PRISONERS

IERABRAS , knowing himself to be van

quished, cried to Ol iver,“ I crave your

mercy, noble knight, and I pray that I may bebaptized ; for how can I refuse to bel ieve inthe God by whose help you have now overcome me ? Therefore I surrender myself toyou, and beg for your protection .

” WhenOl iver heard him speak and saw in what astrait he was, he had great compass ion on him,

and laid him under a tree, and so bound uphis wounds that he staunched the bleeding.

When he had done th is, Fierabras said, “Now,

noble s i r,carry me away from this place, for

of my own strength I cannot go . Ol iveranswered . Nay

,but you are of so great a

weight that I may not take you.

” Then said1 1

146 HOW OLIVER AND OTHERS

the giant again , “ Take me to the King, forverily I am very near my o end . And if youcannot bear me, then take my horse and mountthereon , and lay me across the saddle, and putmy sword by thy side . And mark this therel ie in wait in that wood yonder mensoldiers of mine , whom I set there this veryday, bidding them there abide till I shouldreturn from the battle .

”

Ol iver was ill-contentwith these words ; nevertheless he took thegiant and laid him across the saddle of hishorse, and went his way. Then there chargedfrom the wood a great host of pagans , amongwhom was a certain Brullant, and another,Sortybrant by name .When Ol iver saw these he struck his spursinto his horse , but the beast was so heavilyburdened that h e could not go so fast as theenemy pursued . When the men of Francesaw this , they made all haste to go to the helpof Ol iver, Roland first of all , and Richard ofNormandy

,and Guy of Burgundy, and Duke

Thierry, and as was mee t, Ol iver

’

s own father,Duke Reyner. Meanwhile Brullant, havingoutstripped his companions, came near, for herode a horse that was as swift as a greyhound.

Then Ol iver said to Fierabra s, “ Now, SirKing

,I must needs put you down , and this I


he drew Hautclere his sword, and smote thefirst man that he encountered—he was the sonof the greatest lord that was in the army of theSaracens—and cleft h is body to the breast, sothat he fell down dead . Whereupon Ol ivertook his shield , for his own had been broken top ieces . This done he charged the enemy ; oneof the leaders he slew at the first stroke, andnot a few afterwards . He bore himself rightbravely, but it was not in mortal man to prevailagainst such a host. First his horse was slainunder him

,and though he rose again from the

earth and stood upon his feet, and dealt manymighty blows , slaying many, yet he was overcome by the strength and number of theSaracens . H is shield was broken in thirtyplaces, and his breastplate pierced through withdarts , and his body wounded many times. Atthe last, being overcome by weariness andgreat bleeding, he fell to the ground . Thenthe Saracens took hold of him as he lay, andbound him with cords , and blindfolded his eyes,and setting him on a horse, so carried himaway. All this time he did not cease to cryout for help , call ing by name on King Charlesand on Roland, who was his comrade. Nordid these turn a deaf ear to his cries , but camewith all haste to help him , i f it' might be . And

WERE TAKEN PRISONERS 149

among them was Roland, and Ogier the Dane,and Guy of Burgundy, yes, and King Charleshimself. There was not one of them but slewa Saracen, but Ol iver they could not rescue ,because they that had him in charge fled withall speed, so that the men of France could notby any means come up with them . Nor wasthis all the trouble, for many of the Christianswere slain , and others were taken prisoners, asGerard of Montdidier and Geoffrey Langevin .

These the Saracens bound to horses and carriedaway with all haste. When Charlemagne sawthis he was so angry that he well -nigh lost hiswits. “ Help ! help ! ” he cried to the men ofFrance. Will you not save your comradesI t will be an il l day for France if these menare carried away into captivity.

” Nor wereRoland and his comrades slow to do the King’sbidding

,for they spurred their horses , and

pursued after the enemy, seeking if by anymeans they might del iver the prisoners . Andever Roland was in front, having his goodsword Durendal in his hand . Many blows didhe deal with it, and few were they that weresmitten and yet l ived .

'

For the space of fivemiles they followed after the Saracens, andstill as they followed they slew, but nevertheless they could not come up with Ol iver and


the rest of the prisoners, so quickly did theywho had them in charge ca rry them away.

As for Roland, though he swore that he wouldnot turn back before he had del ivered hiscomrades from captivity, yet he was constrainedto depart from his purpose, for now the nightbegan to fall, and no man knew by whichway he should go . So the K ing, seeing thatthere was much danger lest the Saracensshould lay an ambush for his army, bade themhalt and turn back to the camp . And thisthey did very unwill ingly.

As King Charles rode back, he foundFierabras lying under a tree much spent withthe bleeding of his wounds . When he sawhim

,he said, I have good cause to hate you

,

pagan that you are, for you are the causewhereby many of my men have been slain andtaken prisoners, among them Ol iver

,than

whom there is no one in the whole worlddearer to me . ”

When Fierabras heard these words, he

sighed and said, “Most noble King, I pray youof your mercy to pardon me and cause me tobe made a Christian man, so that, i f I shouldbe healed of my wounds , I may do all that isin me to advance the Christian faith, and todel iver the Holy Sepulchre . And now I

CHAPTER XVI I

HOW OLIVER AND H IS comm as FARED

HE Saracens that had charge of Ol iverand the other knights did not halt till

they came to a rich ci ty, Aygremore by name .

Being arrived there they made a great brayingof trumpets at the gate. Balan, who wasfather to F ierabras, hearing this came to thegate, and seeing there Brullant,

'said to him,

“ Tell me, Brullant, my friend , how you havefared . Have you taken King Charles, andput his Peers to fl ight ? ”

Brullant answered,

I have no such tidings for you , S ir Admiral.We have been disc omfited by King Charles

,

and Fierabras your son was overcome in s inglefight by one of the King

’

s Barons, and has beenmade a Christian man .

”

When the Admiral heard this, he was greatly

troubled , and fell into a swoon. Being re

15:

HOW OLIVER AND HIS COMRADES FARED 153

covered from this , he made a great complaintof his ill-fortune, and lamented over his son, asone who never having been vanquished beforehad now suffered defeat. And at last, so greatwas his rage

,he cri ed, “ Now if this be true

,

and F ierabras my son is lost to me, verily Iwill strike out the brains of this false godMahomet, who having promised me so muchhas fulfi l led so l ittle. ” And he threw himselfi n an agony upon the ground .

After a while, his anger having now somewhat cooled, he said to Brullant,

“ Tel l menow, was Fierabras my son vanquished by oneof these knights whom I now see before me ?I f i t be so, show the man to me .

” So Brullantshowed to him Ol iver, and Balan was fain toadmire him , so tal l he was and strong and fair.Nevertheless he cried , “ Bring him h ither tome, and I will cut him to pieces . When theothers understood that it was his purpose toput Ol iver to death , they were greatly troubled .

But Ol iver comforted them saying, “We arenot in such il l case as you think . But markthis one th ing that I counsel you . Tell notyour true names to the Admiral . I f he onceknows that we are Peers of France, he willhave no p ity upon us

,and we shall die. ” But

the Saracens knew not what he said . After

154 HOW OLIVER AND HIS COMRADES FARED

this Balan commanded that the prisoners shouldbe brought before him

,having been first bound

with cords and bl indfolded . This being done,he said to Ol iver, “ Tell me now your nameand country, and mind that you say nothingthat is false .

Ol iver answered, “ I am a poor knight,Eugenes by name, born in Lorraine, my fatherbeing a yeoman, and these my comrades whomyou see are poor knights also, and we havetaken service with the K ing, hoping thus toget advancement and reward .

” Balan wasvery wroth to hear this. “ I thought, hecried, that I had five of the best and bravestknights in France, and that having these Ipossessed , as it were, the keys of France .

And he said to his chamberlain, “ Strip thesemen of their raiment and bind them to thatpillar yonder, and bring me darts well pointedwith iron that I may shoot at them for mysport.” But Brullant stood up and said,“ Sir Admiral I beseech you to hear me ; i tis now eventlde, and too late to do justicein proper form ; your lords and councillors

also are not here ; delay therefore this matterto the morrow, when the thing shal l beknown and your j udgment better approved ,for that these men rightly deserve such


which they cl imbed, l ifting up Ol iver also, forof his own strength he could no t have done it .Loudly did he lament, crying out that hisfather Reyner should never more see him alive.But Gerard comforted him , saying, “ I t is notfor a brave knight to complain . Let us r athertrust in God. Nevertheless I wish that wehad each of us a good sword in his hand . Ivow to God that we would slay not a few scoreof Saracens before they should put us againinto this dungeon .

”

Now the Admiral had a daughter, Floripas

by name, a very fair damsel , and not yetmarried . She was of a reasonable stature, andas bright as a rose in May. Her hair was l ikeshining gold , and her eyes bright as the eyesof a falcon, and the eyebrows above them fineand straight

,her nose shapely, her cheeks wel l

rounded,fair as a fleur-de-lys , but with del icate

colour of rose ; her mouth small and del icatewith a chin suitably fashioned , and her shouldersstraight and her bosom of a most dainty curve .She was clad in a robe of purple broidered withgold

,of noble aspect, and of such a virtue that

no one wearing it could be harmed by anypoison . Such was Floripas to behold . Sofair was she

,that if a man had fasted for three

days or four and should then look upon her, he

HOW OLIVER AND HIS COMRADES FARED 157

should be as well satisfied as with abundanceof meat and drink.

The maiden hearing the complaints of theFrench knights felt a great p ity for them . Soshe went from her chamber to the hall , andtwelve maidens that waited upon her followed.

And when she came to the hall she found agreat lamenting, and asking the cause she heardthat her brother F ierabras had been vanquishedin battle and taken prisoner. Thereupon shecried aloud, and wept bitterly, and al l that werein the hall wept with her.After that the maiden ’s grief was somewhat

spent, she sent for Brutamont the jailer, anddemanded of him who were these men that hehad in the dungeon . Madam ,

” said he , theyare French knights, servants of King Charles ,and they have wrought great harm to ourpeople

,and done dishonour to our gods. This

also they have added to their crimes, that theyhave helped to slay Fierabras your brother.One of them there is who is as seemly a manas ever I beheld ;

’twas he, I am told, thatprevailed over your brother. Then saidFloripas,

“ Open now the dungeon, for Iwould fain know how they fare .

” But Brutamont answered

,Not so, madam ; the place is

foul and loathsome, and so dark that you could


not see the men . A lso your father has strictlycharged me that I should suffer no one to comenear to the prison, and least of all a woman ,seeing that many are deceived and shamed bywomen .

Floripas was very wroth to hear such words ,Thou evi l beast ! said she dost use suchspeech to me ? And she called her chamberlain and bade h im fetch her a staff Whichwhen he had brought, she smote Brutamont thejailer so mighty a blow upon the head that hefel l to the ground a dead man .

Then Floripas bade them l ight a torch andOpen the door of the prison . And when shesaw the prisoners how they had cl imbed uponthe pillars , as has been told, she said, Tell menow, my lords, who you are and how you arenamed .

”

Ol iver answered , Fair lady, we aremen of France, and knights of King Charles,and having been brought hither have been putby the Admiral into this horrible dungeon .

Better had we been slain in battle than that weshould rot in this place ! ” Floripas, who forall that she was not a Christian woman , was ofgreat courtesy and compassion, said to them ,

Now I promise that I will take you out of thisprison

,only you must engage to do what I

demand of you.

” And Ol iver sa id, That will


abode , marvellously adorned with all manner ofpaintings, as of the sun and the moon and allthe host of heaven, with woods and mountainsand l iving creatures of all kinds , made, as somewill have it, by the son of Methuselah . Thisdwelling stood on a black rock, altogethersurrounded by the sea, and near to it was agarden of which the flowers and fruits neverfailed . There were precious herbs also whichavailed to cure al l manner of s ickness andmaladies , save only the malady of death.

Now Floripas had a governess , by nameMaragonde . Maragonde said to the maiden,Madam , I know these Frenchmen well . Thatis Ol iver, son of Reyner, the same that hasvanquished Fierabras your brother ; that yonderi s Gerard of Montdidier, and this Will iam theScot. Now may Mahomet send his curse uponme if I do not straightway tel l your father, thelord Admiral . When Floripas heard thesewords she changed colour, being moved to muchanger, which nevertheless she hid . Then shecal led the woman to come to her where shestood by a window ; when she was come shestruck her to the ground with a great blow, andcall ing her servant, bade him throw her intothe sea

,for she much feared her father and

his malice. “ Go now, spiteful’

wretch ,”

said

HOW OLIVER AND HIS COMRADES FARED 16 1

Floripas when she saw Maragonde sink in thewater

,

“ You have your reward .

”

This done, she greeted the Frenchmen rightcourteously, and when she saw how Sir Ol iverwas covered with blood, she gave him a draughtof a certain herb that is named Mandegloire,

which when he had drunk he was immediatelymade whole . Then the knights were refreshedwith baths and were furnished with goodlyapparel

,and had entertainment of meat and

drink. And when they were satisfied, she saidto them,

“ My lords, I know full well who youare, that this, for instance, i s S ir Ol iver whovanquished Fierabras my brother ; yet I haveshowed you this great kindness, nor this withoutdanger to myself. Now there is a certainknight in France whom I have long loved, Guyof Burgundy by name ; he is the goodl iest manthat ever I saw, and is of the kindred ofCharlemagne and of Roland . I saw him atRome when my father the Admiral took thatcity

,and then and there gave him my heart,

when he had struck down to the earth a certainLucifer that was chief of the pagan warriors .For the sake of this Guy I will become aChristian

,and if I may not have him to my

husband,I will never marry. Now therefore

I beg that you will help me in this matter. ”

12


Then said Gerard of Montdidier,“ Madam,

give us arms, and we will put the Saracens tofl ight. ” But Floripas was prudent and sa id,Rest awhile, my friends , for it wil l need muchcounsel before it can be seen what you hadbest do.

164 OF THE BRIDGE OF MANTRYBLE

To th is Roland answered, Fair king and uncle,send me on no such errand , for if you do , youwill never see me more. ” Then spake theDuke Naymes,

“ Take heed, S ire, what you do.

You know what a val iant man is your nephewRoland . I f you send him, he will return nomore .

” Said King Charles, “ Then you shallgo with him , bearing the letters that I shall sendto the Admiral .” And then others of the Peers,as Duke Thierry and Ogier the Dane, stood upi n their place , and said the same thing, then theKing swore a great oath , even by the eyes i nhis head, that they also should go. So he didto six of the Peers . Last of all he sp ied Guyof Burgundy and said to him,

“ You are mycousin and nearest to me in blood, you shall bethe seventh with these six to take my messageto Balan the Admiral . You shall say to himthat I purpose to baptize him, that he holds ofme his whole kingdom, and that he mustdel iver up to me the holy things. ” Said Guyof Burgundy, “ My lord, I pray you send menot on this errand , for if you will send me I amassured that you will never see me again .

” Butthe K ing to

‘

ok no heed. On the morrow theseven came and stood before him and sa id

,

“We crave your leave to depart ; if we havedone wrong to any in this company we pray his

OF THE BRIDGE OF MANTRYBLE 105

pardon , and if any have wronged us, him wepardon . At these words all that were therebegan to weep for pity. The King said

,

“Wellbeloved, I commend you to God ; may He haveyou in H is keeping l

” Then they went theirway.

Meanwhile in Aygremore the Admiral wasin great trouble and doubt. He sent

,there

fore, for fifteen Kings of the Saracens,that

they might advise him . When they werecome the fiercest of them, Maradas by name

,

said S ir Admiral , why have you sent forus ? Balan answered,

“ I will tell you trulyCharlemagne is on his way hither. He saysthat I hold my kingdom of him . Now hewere better advised to sit still and rest h is oldbody, and pray in his churches, and eat suchfood as he has. Go you , therefore, and demandof him my son Fierabras, and bid him dohomage for his kingdom, or I will come withone hundred thousand men, and constrainhim . Maradas l iked not the matter, but saidthat he would go . So did the others also ; sothey armed themselves and departed.

So these two companies both went theirway

,and in no long while approached one to

the other. And first Duke Naymes espied theSaracens

,and said

,See now these Saracens


are coming against us with a great force ;advise what we shall do. Roland said Bein no haste , my lords. There be but twentyof them, or, at the most thirty ; let us ridestraight against them,

” and this advice seemedgood to them all .After this Maradas rode out from the com

pany of the Saracens, and said,“ I t is an il l

fortune for you, being Christian men , that youhave met with us .” “ That is fool ishly said

,

”

answered Duke Naymes.

“We come fromKing Charles bearing a message to Balanyour master. ” Maradas said again : For allthat you are in danger. Wil l any one joustwith me ? ” “ That will I , said Duke Naymes.“ You are overbold,

” answered Maradas .

“ Iwould will ingly fight with ten such as you .

Hear you now, all of you ; let no one movefrom his place ; I will overcome you all, andgive you to my lord the Admiral .”

Roland , when he heard these words, waswell-nigh beside himself with anger, and cried,“ Before the sun set, thou shalt see what wecan do.

” Then he charged at Maradas i ngreat fury

,and Maradas charged also . Each

brake the corselet of the other with his spear ’spoint but Roland dealt Maradas such a blowthat he brake his helmet from off his head, and


the Duke Naymes ;“ i f we do so

,we shall

surely be all slain .

” But the others were ofRoland ’s opinion ; therefore each man took ahead of a pagan in his hand, and they wenttheir way.

So they journeyed till they came to theBridge Mantryble . When the Duke Naymes

saw the bridge, he said, “ This is Mantryble,

and on the other s ide of the bridge l ies thetown of Aygremore, where we shall find theAdmiral . Then said Ogier the Dane,

“ Wemust first pass the bridge, and it is a verydangerous place . There are in i t thirty arches,and on it are great towers, and the walls are sowide that ten knights can ride abreast uponthem . And in the midst of i t is a great drawbridge

,which is let ’ down and pul led up with

ten chains of iron . And under the bridgethere is a river, which they call Flagot. Thisriver flows as fast as a bolt flies out of a crossbow ; so fierce is the current that no boat orgalley can by any means cross over it . Andthe Keeper of the bridge is a giant, Gallafer byname

,a very terrible monster to behold . He

is armed with an axe of steel with wh ich‘

to

smite down any one that may presume to passover the bridge against his will .”

Then said Roland , “ Do not trouble your

OF THE BRIDGE OF MANTRYBLE 169

selves, my lords. As long as i t shall pleaseGod to keep me, and I have Durendal in myhand, I care not one penny for any pagan , behe giant or other. This porter I will slay

,if

he seek tOhinder me .

”

But Duke Naymes

said to S ir Roland, “ This is fool ish talk ; i tis not wise to give one blow and to receive ascore . Leave the matter to me, and I will dealso with the porter, that he will let us pass overthe bridge without any trouble.So when they came to the bridge, the Duke

Naymes rode before them . He was an oldman, and his hair was white, so that it becamehim to ride first. The porter said to him,

Whither do you go with this company, andwhat is your errand ? ” The Duke answered,“We are messengers from King Charles, andwe go to Aygremore with a message to Balanthe Admiral . He has not driven all evil menout of his country, for on our way we met somefifteen villains who would have taken from usour horses and our l ives . But we took suchorder with them that they will not trouble usany more. See, here are their heads .

”

When the porter heard these words he waswell-nigh out of his wits with anger. He saidto the Duke Naymes,

“ Hear me ; you mustpay your tol l for the passing of this bridge.

”

The

1 70 OF THE BRIDGE OF MANTRYBLE

Duke answered , “What is the toll. We willcontent you .

”

I t is no l ittle,this toll

,said

the porter. “ You must pay thirty couple ofhounds, and a hundred damsels, and a hundredfalcons i n their cages, and a hundred horses,and for each foot of each horse a piece of gold.

Also you must give me four pack-horses ladenwith gold and silver. ” The Duke said, “All

this and more you will find in our baggage ,which comes after us . You shall have yourtol l by noon . Of a truth there are manymore things than you say, as hauberks, andhelmets, and good shields . You shall takeof them as much as you will . This Gallaferthe Porter bel ieved, so boldly did the Dukespeak

,and he let them pass by the drawbridge.

Then Roland laughed out, and said, “ S irDuke

,you have indeed kept your word ; and

when they had gone a l ittle further Rolandespied a Turk that was coming across thebridge

,and without ado he lighted down from

his beast,took the Turk by the middle, and

threw him over the wall of the bridge into theriver. When the Duke Naymes, looking behind him

,saw what he had done, he said,

Surely the devil is in th is Roland ; he hasno patience in him . I f God does not keep us,he will bring us al l to our death .

” And indeed

CHAPTER X IX

OF THE DOINGS OF FLORIPAS

N due course the French knights came tothe town of Aygremore, and having

entered by the gate, came, a Saracen guidingthem , to where the Admiral sat in the shadeof a tree. The Duke Naymes said to hiscompanions , “ I am the bearer of the King

’

sletter, and I therefore will speak first. Atthis Roland was il l content

,desiring greatly

to have this office for himself. But the Dukewould not suffer it ;

“ Nay, said he, “ speaknot one word ; you cannot keep yourself inbounds ; i f you have your way you will bringus al l to death before sunset.So the Duke spake first, beginning in this

fashion,

“ Now may God Almighty save anddefend our mighty Lord King Charles, andconfound Balan the Admiral and his subjects .For these have borne themselves to us most

OF THE DOINGS OF FLORIPAS 173

d ishonourably, seeking to take from us ourhorses and other possess ions .” When theAdmiral h eard these words, he had much adoto keep under his anger. Before he couldmake answer to the Duke there came the oneK ing who had escaped from the Frenchmen

,

and told him saying, “ These are the sameeight villains that slew the K ings ; avengeyourself on them .

” Balan said,“ Let them be

for the present,” and turning to Duke Naymes,

he said, Finish now your message . ” TheDuke answered that he would gladly do this,and so proceeded : The great and nobleK ing of France bids you render to him thecrown of thorns with which our Lord Christwas crowned and the other Holy Things .Also he commands you to set free certainknights of his whom you hold in prison whichthings if you fail to do forthwith he will causeyou to be hanged by the neck till you die.”

Balan said, You have reviled me with violentwords but I have heard you courteously. Gonow,

and sit down by yonder pillar, and letthese others speak, whom I have not yetheard ”

Then came Richard of Normandy, andspake the same words. When the Admiralsaw him

,he said

,

“ You are l ike to Richard of

174 OF THE DOINGS OF FLORIPAS

Normandy, the same that slew my uncleCorsuble . Go and sit you down till I haveheard your fellows . After Richard came theothers, saying the same words , and otherwords l ike to them . But none spake morefiercely and proudly than Roland

,who

,after

that he had bidden the Admiral render theHoly Things and the knights his prisoners,added , “ And see that you give up these sameprisoners i n good case ; Otherwise KingCharles will have you hanged by the neck asa thief. ”

Balan cried in a rage, “ These are proudwords. Now I swear by Mahomet andTermagant that I will not eat till you arehanged.

” But Roland answered ,

“ Then methinks you will keep an overlong fast . Saywhat you w il l ; I count you to be of no moreworth than a dead dog.

Last of al l came Guy of Burgundy, who,after he had del ivered the message said, “ I

counsel you,S i r Admiral, to submit yourself

to my lord the King. Take off your coat, andyour hose and your shoes, and go in yourshirt only

,carrying on your back the saddle

of a horse,and rest not til l you come to the

presence of K ing Charles, when you shallconfess your misdoings, and pray for mercy.

176 OF THE DOINGS OF FLORIPAS

i t shall be done forthwith . Go now to theprison, and bring thence the other knightsthat are there. So shall they all suffer deathtogether . Good father, answered Floripas,“ i t is now time for dinner. You cannot commodiously do this justice ti ll you have dined .

”

But her purpose was to persuade her fatherwi th fair words so that he might bring all theFrenchmen together. She said therefore

,

Father,give these knights into my keeping.

They shall be well guarded. And after dinner.you shall do justice upon them in the presenceofyour people.” To this the Admiral consented .

But Sortibrant, who knew that women arechangeable and inconstant, said to him,

“ I t isnot a wise thing to put such trust in a woman.

You will know by many examples how menare dece ived by them .

”Floripas was greatly

angered at these words of Sortibrant, andsaid to him, You are a traitor, perjured anddisloyal . I would give you such a buffet onyour face that the blood would run downamain

,were it a seemly thing for a maid to

do.

”

Their debate being ended, Floripas took theFrench knights to her lodgings. As theywent

,the Duke Naymes said,

“Who eversaw so fair a woman as this ? Of a truth the

OF THE DOINGS OF FLORIPAS 177

man who should do x battle for love of herwould be we l l inspired .

” But Roland wasangry , and said, What devil prompts you tospeak of love ; this is not the time for suchtalk . And the Duke answered , “ Sir Roland

,

I too was once a lover. ” But Floripas , saying they did ill to dispute among themselves

,

took them into her lodgings, and shut to thedoor . Then Roland and Ol iver embracedwith much j oy. The other knights also wereright glad to come together again . And

,

indeed, i t was a marvellous thing ; but whatwill not a woman ’s wit effect in the attainingof that which she greatly desires ? For it hasbeen told that Floripas had great love for Guyof Burgundy

,and was will ing to be baptized

,

if only she might have him to her husband .

When the knights had finished their greetings, Floripas said to them ,

“ My lords, willyou promise me on your honour that you wil lhelp me to attain that which I des ire ? ” TheDuke Naymes answered, “That, madam , willwe do right will ingly. And you may trustthat we will keep faith with you .

” ThenFloripas asked the Duke by what name hewas known . And when he had told her sheasked the names of the others . And whenshe came to Roland and had heard that he

13

178 OF THE DOINGS OE’

ELORIPAS

was Roland , son of the Duke of Milan andnephew to King Charles h imself, she kneeleddown at his feet. And when he had raisedher up right courteously, she said to him ,

“ Ilove a certain knight of France, Guy ofBurgundy by name, and I would have tidingsof him .

” Madam ,

” answered Roland, “ he ishere in this very place ; there is not more thanfour feet of Space between him and you .

”

Then Roland said to Guy of Burgundy,Come hither, Sir Guy, to this maiden and

receive her right gladly, as is fit.” But Guy

answered, “ God forbid that I should take awife exc ept she were given me by King Charleshimself. ” When Floripas heard him shechanged colour, being very angry, and said ,I f this be so, then I swear by Mahomet thatall these knights shall be hanged on a gibbet . ”

Then said Roland to Guy, “I pray you do

this damsel the pleasure that she would have .So Guy consented to her will . And Floripassaid that now she had the th ing she mostdesired, and kissed him , not on the mouth, forthat she durst not, being yet a pagan, butupon the cheek and chin. After this sheopened a great chest that she had in herchamber

,and spread a fair cloth of silk, and

on this she laid the crown of thorns and the

CHAPTER XX

OF THE DOINGS OF THE FRENCH KN IGHTS

S the Admiral sat at dinner there cameinto the hall the chieftain who was named

Lucifer, and was a special friend to the Admiral .He said, I s i t true , as I have heard, thatF ierabras, your son , who was the very bestknight in the whole world, has been overcomeand taken prisoner ? ” “ I t is true,

” answeredthe Admiral, I will not hide the thing from you .

A French knight, whom may Mahomet confound , overcame him . But we have taken fiveof King Charles ’s knights seven other knightscame hither bearing a very insolent message tome from the King, all these therefore are inprison . I gave them into the hands ofFloripas my daughter, and she has shut themup in prison .

“ Sir,” said Lucifer,

“ this was not well doneof you, to trust these prisoners to a woman, for

180

THE DOINGS OF THE FRENCH KNIGHTS 181

0;

women are apt to change, and to turn from onething to another . I f i t please you I will go andsee in what condition they are. ”

Then said the Admiral , “ That is wellcounselled ; go and see, and when you returnmake my daughter to return with you .

”

So Lucifer went , and when he came to thechamber where Floripas was he did not seekto have the door opened to him , but smote itso stoutly with h is foot that he brake down thebolts and bars .When Floripas saw this she was very wroth ,

and said to Roland, “ This violence is i l lpleas ing to me, S ir Roland, all the morebecause this man that has done it should havebeen my husband

,though I loved him not. I

pray you avenge me of this wrong.

“ Be content, fair lady,” answered Roland,

this fellow shall be made to know of his misdoing ere he depart hence. Never did he payso much for the making of a lock as he shallpay for the breaking of it. ” Meanwhile Luciferentered the chamber

,and coming up to the

Duke of Naymes, who was bareheaded, tookhim by the beard

,and drew him to himself so

roughly that he had well-nigh thrown him tothe ground. Whence come you, old man ?

”

said he , “ Tell me the truth .

”The Duke told

182 THE DOINGS OF THE FRENCH KNIGHTS

him,

“ I am Duke of Naymes, and I am acouncillor of King Charles, from whom I havecome, with these lords whom you see, bringinga message to the Admiral . And because whatwe said was not to his l iking, he has made usprisoners. But now take your hand from mybeard , you have held me long enough . Andbe sure that I say not al l that I think.

” Thepagan answered him , May be the Admiralwill forgive you your folly. But come, tell metruly of your countrymen, how do they bearthemselves, and what games do they play ?

”

The Duke answered,“ When the King has

dined every man may go where he will . Someride on horses

,and some go into the fields

,and

some play at chess or tables. I n the morningevery man hears Mass when it is said ; theyare wont also to give alms to such as are inneed . And in battle they are not eas i ly to beovercome . ”

Lucifer said,

“ Old man, you dote ; thesethings are naught ; say, can your folk blow atthe great coal I never heard of the greatcoal

,

” said the Duke. Then said Lucifer,

“ Iwil l teach you the manner of it,

” and he camenear to a great fire that was in the chamber,Roland making a s ign meanwhile to the D uke

that he should bear with the man’

s way. Then


Lucifer took the biggest brand that was on thefire, and blew it so strongly that the sparksflew about abundantly.

“ And now,

” said heto the Duke , “ You must blow also .

” Thereupon the Duke took the coal, and blew it sostrongly that the flame came near to thepagan ’s face , and burnt his beard. Luciferwas almost out of his wits for anger

,but before

he could as much as speak the Duke smotehim with the brand upon the neck so stronglythat the bone was broken , and the man felldead upon the floor. “ By my faith

,said

Roland , you can’

play right well at blowing ofthe coal . Now blessed be the arm that struckthat blow. The Duke ' said, Blame me not

,

my friends,for ye saw how the man trifled

with me . ” Then said Floripas, Sir,you are

worthy of all honour. Lucifer, I reckon , willhave no more des ire to play with you at thegreat ‘coal. Nor will he wish to marry me.For indeed that was his purpose . Verily Ihad rather died the most v illainous death thanhave had him for my husband .

”

After a while Floripas, being a woman ofwise counsel

,said to the knights, “ This

Lucifer that is now dead was a man muchbeloved by my father, who doubtless is evennow waiting for h im to come to dinner. As


soon as it shall be known that he has beenslain, you will be assailed ; and if you bevanquished , not all the gold in the world willredeem you from death . Arm yourselves

,

therefore ; and , being armed, wait not til l youare assailed in th is place, but issue forth andyourselves assail the Admiral ’s palace, and besure that you do this in such fashion as tobecome masters of it . ”

This counsel seemed good to the Knights .So they armed themselves, and went forth,bold as l ions and fierce as hungry wolves

,and

the time of going forth was the hour that isbetween day and night. First of all wentRoland

,and slew King Corsablis ; next came

Ol iver, and he also wounded a king, Coldro byname great was the slaughter, for the Saracenswere taken as they sat at meat. Many werekilled and not a few leapt from the windowsand so perished . As for the Admiral heescaped most narrowly ; for as he leapt from awindow Roland dealt a great blow at him wi thhis sword

,and the sword made a hole of a foot

deep in the marble stone of the window.

Brother,said Ol iver,

“ the Admiral has

escaped from you . You say true,”

answeredRoland

,

“ and I am but ill content.” But theFrenchmen made themselves masters of the


a great host, began to assail the castle withstones from slings and po isoned darts. I n thisway they did but l ittl e damage

, bu t the knightsand the maidens in the castle were sorelypressed for want of food, nor did any one suffermore than Floripas herself, who was grieved notfor herself only, but for the knights also, andfor the maidens that waited on her. WhenGuy of Burgundy saw this, he said to hisfellows, “ I t is now three days s ince we hadany bread .

’Tis a grievous thing to endure ;and I suffer more for these damsels than formyself. I t were better to die than to endurethis pain . Let us, therefore, sally forth , andget for ourselves some victuals . ” This counselpleased all the Frenchmen .

But Floripas said to them :“ Now I see

that the God whom you worship is of l ittlepower

,seeing that he suffers you to remain in

such straits . Now, i f you had worshipped ourgods, they would, beyond all doubt, havefurnished you with abundance of meat anddrink. Roland said, Madam , let us see yourgods. I f they have such power as you say, wew il l surely worship them .

” Then Floripas

took the keys, and took the French Knights toa place that was under the castle, where thegods were set in great state, Apollo, to wit, and


Mahomet, and Termagaunt, and Jupiter, andothers with them . Very splendid was theplace, and full of gold and jewels . Guy ofBurgundy said, “ Here is store of gold : didK ing Charles possess th is, he could set up thechurches that have been overthrown.

”

Floripas said : “ Sir Guy, you spakeblasphemy against the gods ; do you nowworship them , that they may be incl ined tohelp you . Sir Guy answered , “ Madam

,I

cannot pray to them , for i t seems to me thatthey are all asleep and take no heed of whatmay be said . So saying he smote the imageof Jupiter that it fell to the ground, and Ogierthe Dane smote another of the images . Whenthey were all brought to the ground, Rolandsaid to Floripas,

“ Madam, these gods are ofno power and avail nothing. After this themaiden believed in them no longer,After these things, Floripas ha ving swoonedfor trouble and hunger

,the knights sallied

forth . And Roland‘said, Now some one must

keep the gates that we may be able, when theoccasion comes

,to enter it again . Let the

Duke Naymes therefore keep it, or Ogierthe Dane .

” The Duke said, “ Think youS ir Roland

,that I am of estate so poor that

I will serve as your porter ? Assuredly I will


not do so. Old I am , but yet I can ride my horsein battle, and my sinews are well set, and Ihave enough of strength to fight my enemies .You shall do as you will, Sir Duke ,

” saidRoland . No man desired to take the place .

Nevertheless , at the last Thierry abode withGeoffrey to keep the gate.Meanwhile the Admiral , s itting at a window,

saw how the Frenchmen came forth to battle.He sent, therefore, for Sortibrant and Brullant,and said to them ,

“ I see that the Frenchmenare coming to fight. I f they be not all slain ,I shall be very ill content. Then the Saracens,of whom there was a great host, assailed theFrenchmen, but could not stand against them .

Roland, having his sword Durendal in h ishand

,did great deeds of valour. Nor were

the knights beaten back, even though KingClarion

,who was the Admiral ’s neighbour,

came to his help with I men . That day,therefore , the knights fought with much glory.

And when the battle was ended, there came tothem a marvellous good fortune. For theysaw that there passed by the castle twentybeasts laden with provender, bread to wit,and wine

,and venison , and a store of other

v ictuals . These were on their way to theAdmiral

,but the French knights straightway

CHAPTER XXI

OF GUY OF BURGUNDY

HE Frenchmen, being now safe in theTower, refreshed themselves with food ,

for they had fasted long, as has been told . Asthey sat at meat, came Floripas and said tothem ,

“ Tell me now ; where is Guy ofBurgundy, that was to be my husband ? ISaw him sally forth out of the gates with you ;has he returned with you ? Roland answeredher : “ Floripas, th ink not that you wi ll seehim again . The pagans took him out of ourhands, notwithstanding all that we could do ;and how he will fare in their hands we knownot. When Floripas heard these words , shefel l down as one dead . When she came toherself she cried aloud with a lamentable voiceLords of France, i f Guy be not given backto me I will g ive up this Tower to my fatherbefore two days are over. ” Then Roland

OF GUY OF BURGUNDY 191

comforted her saying, Be not troubled,lady

,

you shal l see S ir Guy again in no long time .

This also I say. You will not bring him backby weeping and lamenting. Be strong now

,

and take comfort, and also, for you are weakwith long fasting, eat of this food.

” ThenFloripas and her ladies were content, andtook something to eat .Meantime Guy was brought before the

Admiral . He was much changed in face,being

pale and wasted, seeing that he had not eatenfor three days . Also he was troubled to thinkof the danger in which he stood. He had beenspoiled also of his arms . For all this i t wasmanifest that he was a very gal lant knight.Balana sked him his name and country. Guyanswered : Admiral , I will tel l the truth withoutfear. I am Guy of Burgundy, subject to KingCharles

,and cous in to Roland the Valiant. ”

The Admiral answered, “ I know you overwell , Sir Guy. For seven months past mydaughter has had grea t love for you, a thingwhich is most displeas ing to me . Verily forthis cause I have lost many good men , that youand your companions have slain . But tel l metruly who are these knights that were with youin the Castle ? Then Guy told him thenames of the knights, the last of all be ing the

192 OF GUY OF BURGUNDY

name of Duke Basyn.

“ Him , said he, “ youhave slain , but be assured that you will payright dearly for his death . When he saidthese words, a Saracen that stood by smotehim on the mouth so that the blood gushedout. Thereat Guy was greatly moved withanger, so that he lay hold of the Saracen bythe hair with one hand and with the other handsmote him upon the bone of his neck sofiercely that the man fell down dead beforethe Admiral .At this deed the Admiral was greatly enraged,

and cried out that Guy should be closelybound . At which word all the Saracens thatwere in the chamber fell upon him and beathim so sorely that he would have been shortlyslain

,but that the Admiral himself cried out

that he was not to be put to death in sucha fashion . Then the Sarac ens bound his hands,and the Admiral bade his men fetch Brullantand Sortibrant and others of his council .“ Friends ,

” said the Admiral , “ advise mewhat I 'shall do with this prisoner who setsme at nought most shamefully.

”S ortibrant

said,

“ I will give you good counsel concerninghim . Set up a gallows-tree near to the moatof the Tower in which the French knightsabide, and make as i f you were going to hang


had scarcely spoken when they saw Guy led bythe Saracens, bound and stripped . Floripas

also saw this th ing, and cried to the Knights,“ Oh , my lords , will you suffer Guy that is yourcomrade to be thus shamefully done to deathbefore your eyes ? If he perish in this fashionI will leap from this window and so die. Andshe came to Roland and kneeled before him ,

and kissed his feet, and cried to him, O, Sir,help this Guy whom I love, or else I am a lostwoman . Arm yourselves, I pray you , and Iwill cause your horses to be made ready, so, i fGod pleases, you will be i n good time. ThenRoland and his fellows armed themselves ingrea t haste, and went forth from the Tower, andmounted their horses. And Roland said tothem ,

“ Let us now keep together as much asmay be

,and be ready to help each other as each

may be in need, for otherwise we shall hardlywin back to this place, for we are but ten innumber, and they are many.

”

Floripas said,“ My lords

,I pray you not to

tarry,but first I will bring you the Crown of

Thorns . ” So she went to her chamber andbrought therefrom the Holy Crown . This allthe knights kissed with much reverence, andso issued forth from the Tower with a goodcourage. When they were gone, Floripas


and her damsels l ifted the bridge and shut fastthe gates of the Tower.The Frenchmen rode in good order towards

the place where the gallows-tree was set up,

the Saracens being busied with Guy whom theyhad now brought thereto, with the rope roundhis neck. When Roland saw this

,he cried

out, “ Hold , traitors ; this th ing shall not fallout as you hope . You have begun a deed ofwhich you shall surely repent. Thereupon hecharged at them with such fierceness that thehardiest of them turned to fly ; yet they flednot so fast but that Roland killed twenty out ofthe thi rty. When the Saracens that lay inambush saw this, they rose up from the placewhere they lay hid, a certa in Conifer, a paganof marvellous strength , being their leader.This Conifer cried out, Ho, ye French knaves ,come you to succour this malefactor ? Verilyyou shall be hanged along with him .

” Rolandwas very wroth to hear such villainous words,and charged fierce as a hungry wolf, with hissword Durendal drawn in his hand . Nor didConifer for his part draw back, for he was agreat warrior. He dealt a great blow onRoland ’s shield that went nigh to beat it down .

Nevertheless Roland slew him, cleaving hishead in twain. This done he ran to the


gal lows and cut the cords with which Guy wasbound, and afterwards stood by him til l he hadarmed himself. This he did

,taking the dead

pagan ’s arms and mounting on his horse. Butthis was not easily done , for all the Saracensthat had lain in ambush were coming uponthem , and the Christians were sore pressed .

But Guy wrought marvels of valour,as one

who having narrowly escaped from death ,fought with great cheerfulness of heart .Floripas also, who stood at a window of theTower

,saw him , and cried out to him that

he should bear himself as a man . WhenOgier the Dane heard this , he said to hiscomrades, Hark to this noble damsel , howbravely she bears herself. We w il l not goback to the Tower till we have done all that wasin our mind to do .

” Then they charged theSaracens yet again ; Roland being stil l i n thefront, and driving the pagans before him , forthey flew from him: on all s ides . Thence theFrenchmen made their way to the bridge andso again into the Tower.When the Admiral perceived this , he was

much troubled,and asked his counsellors again

for advice . Sortibrant said to him , Letevery man that is here present make himselfready for battle and let all the s iege engines be


s iege-engines of marvellous power,which were

so contrived that they who worked them couldnot be hurt by the enemy .

Thus did the Saracens gain possess ion of thefirst defences of the Tower ; yet having wonthem , they could not long hold them ,

for theFrench knights did their part right bravely

,

hurl ing down from the upper parts stonesand darts

,and all kinds of miss iles, and these

so strongly that no man could stand againstthem . The maidens also armed themselves

,

and did the l ike .But the magician had yet other devices to

use against the Christians . He said to theAdmiral , “ Let me have some of your men towait on me, and I will speedily del iver theseChristians into your hand .

” And when he hadmade all th ings ready, he discharged out of hisengines against the walls a fire so marvellousthat the very stones began to burn . TheFrenchmen were sorely dismayed at this

,and

began to say to each other that they must nowsurely quit the Tower. But Floripas said tothem

,

“ My lords, be not afraid . I have something wherewith to quench the fire. Then shewent and took certain herbs, and mixed them inwine

,and the knights threw the wine on the

fire, and it was quenched immediately.


When the Admiral saw this he was out of hiswits with anger, and when Sortibrant told himthat this was of his daughter ’s doing

,he vowed

that she should die an evil death . Then saidSortibrant,

“ Bid your horns and trumpetssound again , and send your men to attack theTower once more. By this time the Frenchmen must be so wearied that they will beovercome. And they have neither stones noriron to cast at us .” Thereupon the Saracensmade yet another assault on the Tower ; sofierce was it that the air was as it were darkwith arrows and darts and stones, great portionsof the walls fell down , and the knights weregreatly troubled . Now, said they

,

“ wemust needs be vanquished, for our defence isbroken down .

” But Floripas bade them be ofgood courage . My lords,

” said she, “ thisTower is yet strong enough to hold out.Besides

,though you have no more stone or

iron,yet my father ’s treasure is here , wedges

and platesof gold , wherewith you may slay thepagans as well as with stones , aye and bettertoo.

” Thereupon Guy of Burgundy, in greatjoy, kissed her.Then Floripas, going to the treasure

-house,showed the gold to the knights . This theytook and cast against the Saracens, to their great


discomfiture Moreover, the Saracens, whenthey saw the gold , left off fighting against theFrench , and began to slay each other . TheAdmiral , when , he saw this , cried with a loudvoice to his captains

,

“ Cease now from theassault, for it turns to my great loss ; see nowhow my treasure which I have gathered withmuch pains is scattered about . This treasureI had entrusted to the keeping of Mahomet mygod

,and see how he has failed me . Verily, i f

I could but have him in my hands, he shouldsuffer pains for this Sortibrant said to him ,

Be not angry, my lord, with Mahomet. Hehas done as well as it lay with him to do ;doubtless he was asleep when your treasureswere spoiled . These Frenchmen are socrafty that they can do what they will . ”

That same night, as the Admiral sat at hissupper

,Roland spied him from a window

where he lay to rest himself. He said to hiscomrades

,

“ I see Balan at his supper with hislords ; he is taking his ease, and it would be toour great honour if we make him rise up fromhis meat. The other lords were of the sameOpinion . They armed themselves therefore,and issued forth from the Tower. But theAdmiral was aware of their purpose, and hesent against them his nephew, Espoulart by

CHAPTER XXI I

OF RICHARD OF NORMANDY

N a certain day after these things Richardof Normandy said to his fellows , How

long are we to abide shut up in this Tower ?I am sure that at the last we must perish bythe hands of these Saracens . I t would bewell, therefore, that we send a messenger toKing Charles , tell ing him that if he would nothave us perish he must send us help .

” TheDuke Naymes said, “ This, S ir Richard, isbut fool ishly spoken . There is no man herethat will dare take this message . Know younot that the whole land is covered with theSaracens

,so that as soon as the messenger is

parted from us he will be slain by them ? ”

And Floripas said,“ My lords, you are safe

while you abide in this place make yourselves,therefore

,as happy as you can . But Duke

Thierry was ill-content with such counsel,

OF RICHARD OF NORMANDY 29 3

We are shut in here , my lords, said he,and our happiness must be but brief. Let

us inform the King of our condition,that he

may come to our help .

”

Ogier the Dane answered as the DukeNaymes had answered, that there was no manwho would go on such an errand.

“ Nay,

”

cried Roland, “ say not so . I wi ll go. Butthe Duke Naymes answered ,

“ That would beill done, S ir Roland ; you must not go hence ;the Saracens would not have so much fear ofus by a half as now they have if you were

3 )gone. Then others proffered to go, asWill iam the Scot, and Gerard , and Guy ofBurgundy, this last being will ing with all hisheart, but Floripas would not suffer i t.At last Richard of Normandy spake thusMy lords

,you know that I am nobly born

,

and that I have a son of full age to bear arms,and fit to stand in my place . Now if it shouldchance that I am slain in taking this message,this my son would hold my heritage and doservice to King Charles . So it was concludedthat Richard of Normandy should take themessage to the King. Roland said to him ,

S ir Richard,promise now that you will not

tarry in any place till you come to the King,saving if you should be hurt or taken

2 94 OF RICHARD OF NORMANDY

prisoner. And Duke Richard promised itshould be so . Having so promised

,he said

,

“ Let us consider now how I may get awayfrom this place unseen of the-men-at-arms

,for

i f they espy me I cannot escape .

”

Roland said, “ My counsel is this. Let ussally forth from the Tower, and assault theSaracens with all our might, and while theyare busied with us then shall Duke Richardsteal away, for he well knows the country.

To this they all agreed, not without tears, forthey knew that the Duke had taken upon himself a very perilous enterprise.The next day, when this thing should have

been done, the French lords found that thegates of the Tower were so closely beset by amultitude of Saracens that no man could byany means go forth . And this was so for thespace of two whole months . At the end ofthis time, the Admiral having gone a-hunting,and the watch of the bridge being negligentlykept

, the knights mounted their horses andissued forth . So soon as they were seen of theSaracens

,there was a great blowing of horns

and trumpets, and a multitude of men rantogether to do battle with the knights . Whilethey were so engaged Duke Richard secretlydeparted. After the Duke had ridden awhile,

206 OF RICHARD OF NORMANDY

many fold . But Clarion answered,

“ I wouldnot do this , no not for half the treasure of theworld .

”

When he heard this, Duke Richard turnedto meet the enemy . King Clarion smote himon the shield , but could not break it through, sostiff and strong was i t. But the Duke, on theother hand, smote h im full on the neck, andshore off his head cleanly with one blow. I tflew a whole spear ’s length , so great was thestroke. Then the Duke, l eaving his ownhorse, took King C larion

’s for himself ; neverbefore had he ridden such a horse, so strongwas i t and so swift . He could have borneseven knights i n armour, and never sweated adrop ; as for swimming rivers, there never wasbeast l ike him . Then the Duke sa id to his ownhorse

,

“ Farewell, my good horse ; I am grieved

that I cannot take thee when I will . God inheaven help thee to escape these Pagans, andcome again into the hands of Christian men ,whom thou mayst faithful ly serve in greatstraits

,even as thou . hast served me. So

saying he went on his way.

When the other Saracens came up and foundKing Clarion lying dead upon the ground theymade great lamentation over him . Some wouldhave taken Duke Richard

’

s horse, but the

OF RICHARD OF NORMANDY 207

beast would not suffer them to come near him,

but galloped as fast as he could to the placefrom which he had come . And , indeed, thitherhe came in a very short space of time . Firstthe Admiral saw h im , and cried aloud, Nowby Apollyon my god, this is well done ofClarion my nephew ; without doubt he hasslain the messenger of the Frenchmen

,for see

his horse is coming.

” And he bade his mencatch the horse . But this they could not do

,

for the creature won its way to the gates ofthe Tower, and these the knights opened toreceive him , lamenting much , for they had nodoubt but that Duke Richard had been slain .

Nevertheless, Floripas bade them be of goodcheer. “ Stay your tears,

” she said ;“ as yet

you know not the whole matter. ”

Meanwhile the Saracens that had accom

panied King Clarion came back, hearing withthem the King ’s body. When the Admiralsaw it he swooned, not once only but fourtimes, so that he seemed like to a dead man.

The Saracens stood about, and made a greatlamentation

,so that the Barons began to take

heart again,and Floripas, being well acquainted

with the Saracen tongue , said, Now I perceive the truth . Duke Richard has slain thisman and taken his horse, for indeed there is no

208 OF RICHARD OF NORMANDY

better horse in all the world . This lamentationthat you hear is for this i ll fortune.All the Barons were glad when they heard

these words, and Ol iver said to Roland, Nowthis is good news . I am sure in my mind thatwe shall safely return home . I had not beenmore sure had I been in the strongest castle inall France. God bless Duke Richard

,for he

has borne himself right bravely.

” And all theother knights agreed to his speech .

Meanwhile the Admiral called to him one ofhis favourites, by name Orage, saying to him ,

Now take a dromedary and ride with allspeed to Gallafer that keeps the Bridge ofMantryble, and say to him from me,

“ Yousuffered the messengers of King Charles topass over, whereby I have suffered greatdamage. And now there goes a messengerto the K ing from the knights that are shut upin this Tower ; i f you stop him not, you shallpay for i t with your l ife. ”

Orage said to theAdmiral

, ,

“ I will do your bidding with allspeed

,for I can take in one day such a journey

as other men take in four. ” And he departedforthwith on his dromedary.

When he came to the Bridge Mantryble, hesaid to Gallafer,

“ The Admiral is i l l contentwith you

,because you suffered the messengers


Duke Richard was ill content to hear suchboasting, and , turning himself quickly, cameupon him unawares and smote him so grievouslythat he fell dead to the earth . Then he tookthe Saracen

’

s horse by the bridle and rode downto the river

’

s bank . And lo ! the stream ranas swiftly as a bolt from a cross-bow

,with a

noise l ike to thunder. And when he saw thisand heard the roaring of the water, hecommended himself to God .

While he looked , lo ! a white hart came tothe river-side, and the river, which before hadbeen so much below the bank as a man mayconveniently cast a stone, began to rise , and socontinued til l i t came to the very top of thebank and even overflowed i t. Thereupon thewhite hart entered the water, and Richard,commending himself to the protection of God ,did the same, and swam safely to the other s ide.Meanwhile King Charles, being in great

trouble about the knights whom he had sentwith a message to the Admiral of Spain , calledtoge ther his counsellors and told them whatwas in his mind, saying, I am greatly troubledbecause that no report has come to me concern

’

ing the knights that I sent. I know not whatto do

,save that I wil l put off this crown , which

I am not worthy to bear.”

Said Ganelon ,

OF RICHARD OF NORMANDY

My lord , I will give you good counsel . Letus return forthwith to France . This town ofAygremore is too strong for us . And theAdmiral is a great warrior, and has also allthe Saracens and Pagans in the world to helphim. And now that Fierabras, his son, hasbeen made a Christian by you

,he is even

more evilly disposed to you than he was before .

Let us therefore go back to France . I t is truethat many valiant peers and knights haveperished , but they have left children behindthem , and these, when they have grown toman’s estate, will do those things wherein theirfathers have failed . So shall we recover theHoly Things , for which, indeed, I feel greatsorrow

,and avenge also Roland, the good

knight whom I am persuaded you will neversee more.When the King heard this he fell into a

swoon for the space of an hour. When hecame to himself he asked his lords again forcounsel

,for he was loath to go back and leave

Roland and theother Peers without help.

But Ganelon and all that were of his kindred,and all that followed him , gave him the samecounsel as before. “ There are twenty thousandof us

,

” said Ganelon,

“ that have sworn not to

go any furthe r.” But the King said, “What

2 1 2 OF RICHARD OF NORMANDY

shall my crown profit me, i f I do th is base thing,and leave these my knights to perish withouthelp ! He that gives me such counsel lovesme but l ittle. ” Then said Reyner

,that was

father to Ol iver, “ Sire, i f you l isten to thesemen you will do th is realm of France suchdamage as may never be undone. ” ButAloys, one of the friends of Ganelon , answered,“ You l ie , Duke Reyner ; were it not that theK ing is here, this is the last word that youshould say . For indeed who are you that youtake so much upon yourself ? Your father wasa man of low estate .

” Then Reyner waxed sowroth that he smote Aloys to the ground.

Th ereupon there was great tumult and quarrell ing, and there would have been bloodshed hadnot the King been there . “ For, said Charles,“ any man that shall draw sword in this placeshall be hanged as a thief, though he be of thehighest estate . So after a while the King,Fierabras helping, made peace, but “ first, saidhe , Aloys that spake so scornfully of DukeReyner must crave pardon .

” And this Aloysdid

,but sorely against his will . Nevertheless

the counsel of those who were for going backprevailed ; for Geoffrey of the H igh Tower,than whom there was no man more worsh ipfulin the King ’s court, was urgent that it should


I have devised a plan by which this may bedone . Let some of us clothe ourselves asmerchants , having our armour and arms underour cloaks , and let the rest h ide themselves ina wood hard by, and be ready armed for battle .So when we shall have gained the first gate

,I

will blow on my horn , and at this signal youshall ride up with all the speed you may.

”

The King greatly approved this counsel .Thereupon five hundred knights disguisedthemselves as merchants . They made greatbundles of hay and grass , which were to serveas merchandise. Every man also was wellarmed under his cloak . Duke Richard wastheir leader

,and with him was Duke Reyner

and others of great repute.

CHAPTER XXI I I

HOW THE BRIDGE MANTRYBLE WAS WON

HEN King Charles and his men hadhidden themselves in a wood that was

hard by, Duke Richard and his company cameto the bridge , driving pack-horses before them ,

laden, as has been said , with false merchandise.But when the knights saw the River Flagot,how swiftly it ran and with how great a roaring, and the bridge how perilous i t was to pass ,and the gates how they were barred with iron ,they were not a l ittle troubled . Richard said,I will go before . Do you follow me, andwhen you have passed the first gate th row offyour cloaks and smite w ith your swords . Andwhatever may happen , see that you fail not oneanother.” And to this they all agreed.

Gallafer, the keeper of the bridge, stood bythe first gate holding a great axe in his handthat had an edge on every side. H e was

215

2 16 HOW THE BRIDGE MANTRYBLE WAS WON

a giant of great stature, w ith fiery eyes andskin as black as p i tch

,more l ike to a devi l

than to a man . The Admiral was his nephew,

and loved him greatly,trusting him so that he

made him warder of the bridge and ruler of allthe countryside .When the French knights came near he

said to them,

“ Strangers, who are you ?”

Duke Richard answered , We are merchantswho travel to the fairs , Mahomet helping us,with drapery and other goods for sale . Wewould fain tarry awhile at Aygremore ; alsowe have gifts , many and precious, for theAdmiral . These others that you see are myservants , and know not your language. Tellme, therefore, what we had best do and bywhat way we should go. Gallafer answered ,“ Know now that I am appointed by theAdmiral of Spain to be keeper of this bridge.And because there have passed over it certainknights who paid 1no toll , and also a messengerwho won his way in wonderful fashion acrossthe river

,and slew also my own kinsman King

Clarion,my master has straitly charged me

that I should not by any means suffer any manto pass the bridge unless he be known to me . ”

When Gallafer had said so much, Duke Richardbowed his head to him right courteously, and


fell and hurt him not ; but i t cleft a stone of

marble on which it l ighted into two parts .Then said Duke Reyner

,

“ What shall we dowith this giant, for a sword avails nothingagainst him ? ” And he took in his hand thegreat branch of a tree, and smote him to theground . Thereat the giant made a great andterrible cry, and the Saracens that followedhim came running. Thereupon Richard letfall the drawbridge, and the five hundredsought to pass over i t.But the Saracens met them at the gate ,

and there was a great fight, wherein manywere wounded and many slain . Then DukeRichard sounded his horn three times . WhenKing Charles heard it he rose up forthwithfrom his ambush in the wood, and all theFrenchmen with him , and made for the bridgewith al l the speed they might use . And foremost of all was Ganelon , that was afterwardsthe traitor. Foremost he was , and gallantlydid he bear himself that day. King Charlesalso showed himself a good man-at-arms.They died that day whomsoever he smotew i th his good sword Joyous .The King saw the giant Gallafer on the

ground with his great axe in his hand wherewith he had slain th irty Frenchmen, and he

HOW THE BRIDGE MANTRYBLE IVAS WON 2 19

commanded that he should be slain , for he yetbreathed. But not yet was the bridge won

,

for a great multi tude of Saracens came up tohelp them that kept it. Among them was agiant, Amyon by name, who called to KingCharles , saying, “ Where is the King ? I twere better for him , dotard that he is, to beat Paris than here . ”

When the King heard this he dismounted ingreat wrath

,and ran at the giant

,and smote

him with J oyous so rudely that he fel l to theground nigh cut in twain . At this the Saracenswere not a l ittle confounded . Nevertheless

,

they pressed upon the K ing and his men withdarts and bullets and arrows . Then the Kingcried to his lords and knights for help. Manyanswered his call nevertheless be was so hardpressed that there was scarce any hope left tohim . Then the Duke Richard bade h im be ofgood cheer

,

“ for,

” said he,“ if every man will

but do h is utmost this day we shall not fail .”

And he pressed on, and his comrades withhim . Nor did Ganelon hold back, thoughthere were some that gave him evil counsel,as Aloys

,who said to him,

“ See , now, how theK ing is beset. I t were well for us if he shouldnot find del iverance. Leave him now, and letus go back to France, where we shall be


masters w ithout contradiction from any man .

But Ganelon answered , Now,may God

forbid that we should betray our lord, of

whom we hold all that we possess. Aloyssa id, You are but a fool , seeing that you willnot take your revenge when you may.

”

ButGanelon would have none of h is counsel .As these two were talking, Fierabras came

up,be ing now healed of his wounds , and asked

where was the K ing. Aloys answered,

“ Heis within the gate, and I take it by th is timethat he is dead .

” Fierabras cried,What do

you standing here ? Why do you not helphim in his need ? ” And he cried out, “ Comeall of you to the help of the King ! ” and agreat multitude of Frenchmen came at hiscall . Great deeds did Fierabras that day, andGanelon also

,so that they two did more than

any other to win the town .

Nevertheless there yet remained somethingto be done. For when Amyot , the giantessthat was wife to Amyon, heard the c ry of thetownsfolk

,she ran forth from her house

,having

a sharp scythe in her hand, and fell upon theFrenchmen in a great rage, and slew many ofthem . When King Charles saw what destruct ion she wrought he called for a cross-bow, andshot a bol t at her, aiming it so nicely that it

CHAPTER XX IV

OF THE END OF BALAN THE ADMIRAL

EANWH ILE i t was told Balan thatGallafer had been slain and the Bridge

Mantryble taken . He was as one out of hiswits with rage, and, crying out to his godMahomet that he was accursed and recreant,he smote the image with a club that he heldin his two hands and brake it down . Norwas this il l done, seeing that such things areof no use or profit . Nevertheless S ortibrantreproved him , and bade him repent of suchinjurious deeds . “That cannot I do , answeredthe Admiral , “ seeing that th is Charles haswon my strong city of Mantryble. S ortibrant

said, “ Send a spy, Sir Admiral , that you mayknow what King Charles is doing ; afterwards ,let us march together against him, and if weprevail over him then shal l you hang him andhis people without mercy, and you shall cut off

222

OF THE END OF BALAN THE ADMIRAL 223

the head of your son Fierabras,for the help

that he has given your enemies .This the Admiral said that he would do.

First he humbled himself before his gods,and

vowed that he would Offer to them a thousandpounds of fine gold. This done, he bade thetrumpets sound to gather together the Saracens .These brought great engines of war with whichto throw great stones against the Tower. Andthis they did to such good purpose that theymade three great breaches in the wall bythe least of which a cart might have passed .

But Roland and Ol iver stood over them withtheir shields and stopped the way. Then criedthe Admiral , Friends, if you would have mylove, do your duty, and bring this Tower tothe ground . Verily, when I shall have takenit, I will burn with fire this il l daughter ofmine, Floripas.

When they heard these words the Saracenscame onmore fiercely than ever. And now theFrenchmen held but the last portion only ofthe Tower. Then Roland bade his comradesfight with good courage,

“ or,” said he, “ we

shall not overl ive this day.

” As for Ol iver,he was for sallying forth . I t were better,

”

said he,

“ to fal l honourably in the midst ofour enemie s than to be done to death in this

2 24 OF THE END OF BALAN THE ADMIRAL

place . And Ogier the Dane and other lordswere of the same mind. But Floripas wouldnot that they should do this . “You promised

,

said she,“ that you would do nothing against

my will . And I bid you stay within.

” Andthis they did, holding the breaches as bestthey might, and driving back the Saracens.After a while Balan saw his daughter where

she stood at a window with certain of theknights , and reproached her for her disobedience, and threatened that he would burnher with fire . But she answered nothing,only shook a stick that she had in her handas if

'

she would have beaten him . Then theSaracens

,at his bidding, assaulted the Tower

yet more fiercely, and the Frenchmen tookthe idols that were in the Tower, images ofApollo and Mahomet and others, and threwthem down upon the Saracens to their greatdamage . When he saw this Balan swoonedwith rage

,but, coming to himself, bade the

Saracens assault the Tower yet again withall their might. And this they did so fiercelythat the Frenchmen were wel l-nigh in despa ir.When they were in th is strait the Duke

Naymes, going to an upper window in theTower

,saw the ensign of S t. Denis in the

valley

’

beneath , and called to his fellows that


hold of him , but perceiving that he carried amessage, straightway let him go . So comingto the tent wherein the Admiral abode

,he

spake with a loud vo ice The noble Charles,

King of France , sends this message : I f youwill renounce Mahomet and all false gods andreceive the true faith , you shall keep all yourland and worship , and shall be honoured andloved of al l Christ ian men . But if you willnot, then you shall surely die.

” So Ganelonspoke. But Balan , when he heard thesewords

,was very wroth, and made as if he

would strike him . Then Ganelon drew hissword and smote Brullant where he stood bythe Admiral ’s s ide, and, l eap ing on his horse

,

rode away.

The Duke Naymes saw him from a windowin the Tower, and said to Roland and Ol iver,“ Who is th is knight that rides so fast . ”

They judged that he was none other thanGanelon

,and Roland cried aloud, “ God grant

that he fal l not into the hands of the enemy.

”

And as he spoke, Ganelon turned upon theSaracens

,and slew two of them , of whom the

brother of King Sortibrant was one . When

Ol iver saw this he said to Roland, “ See youthis ? That is a good knight. I love him

in my heart. Would God I were with him

OF THE END OF BALAN THE ADMIRAL 2 27

Iwhere he is . ’ But when the Saracens camenear to the army of the King, they left chasingGanelon .

When the King knew how his message hadsped he commanded that they should set thearmy in array. This they did, parting it intoten divis ions . The Saracens also prepared forbattle . And first Brullant rode forth andchallenged the King to combat ; nor did hehold back . So these two met and the Kingslew Brullant, and many other Saracens also.

Nor did the Saracens lack great warriors, suchas King Tenebres , a famous Turk, who slewJohn of Pontoise and many others. But himDuke Richard overthrew ; Duke Reyner slewSortibrant ; and Balan the Admiral slewHuon of Milan, and went near to slayingMilon

,but that Ganelon and his men saved

him,though not without much damage to

themselves . Nor, indeed, would they haveso prevailed but for the help of Fierabras .And now the knights that were in the Tower,

seeing the army of their countrymen , cameforth

,and taking each man a horse, whose

rider had been slain, charged the Saracens .These being taken

,as it were, both before and

behind, fled , as doves fly before a hawk. And


Balan fled w i th them , but be ing overtaken wasmade prisoner .When the Admiral was brought to Charles

,

the King said , “Wil l you forsake yourfalse gods, who indeed have profited younothing, and accept the true faith ? I f youwill do so, you shal l suffer nothing, either inyour person or in your goods .” Nay, saidthe Admiral , “ that wil l I not. ” Then Charlesdrew his sword and said , “ I f you yield notyou die. ” And Fierabras , kneel ing down ,prayed that his father might be spared . ThenBalan consented to be baptized . Nevertheless

,

when he came to the font the evi l sp i ri t inh im rebel led , and he spat i n the font, and wentnear to slaying the bishop that should havechristened him for he took him by the middl e,and would have drowned him in the font.When the K ing saw this he said, “ Verily thisevil-doer must die .

” Nevertheless Fierabrasentreated him to have patience, and , turningto his father, would have persuaded him evenyet to baptism . Nay, said Balan , “ thatwill I never do, and you are a fool , my son ,to ask such a thing. Would I were onhorseback ; then would I show these villainswhat is in my heart .” When the King heardthis he said, “Who will slay this fel low ?

CHAPTER XXV

HOW GANELON WENT ON AN ERRAND TO K ING

MARS ILAS

OR seven years King Charles the Greattarried in Spain . He conquered the

whole land from the sea to the mountains,saving Saragossa only, of which Marsilas , aheathen, was King. Marsilas cal led togetherhis nobles, and said to them,

“ This KingCharles will be our destruction, for we have nolonger an army wherewith to meet him . Giveme counsel , as wise men should, so that I maybe saved from death or disgrace. ”

Now the wisest of the heathens was a certainBlancandrin, a man val iant in war and good atcounsel . “ Fear not,

” said he, “ fear not, O

King. Send a message to King Charlespromising him faithful service and friendship.

Send also a present to h im . Let there be l ions230

HOW GANELON WENT ON AN ERRAND 231

and bears , and dogs, seven hundred camels,and a thousand falcons . Send also fourh undred mules laden with gold and silver

,

that King Charles may have wherewithal topay his soldiers . And tell him that if he willreturn to France, you will follow him ,

andthere , on the Feast of St . Michael , will be converted to the Christian Faith, and will be hisvassal in all honour. I f he ask for h ostages

,

let him have them, ten or twenty, as he maydesire. See, I offer my own son to be one ofthem, whatever may befall him . Better thatthey should lose their heads than that weshould lose our lordship and our lands , and bebrought to beg our bread .

” And all the chiefsof heathenry said : “ I t is wel l ; we will will inglygive the hostagBlanc andrin spake again : “ By this right

hand and by this beard I swear that the endof the matter will be this : You will see theFrench raise their camp in all haste and goback to their own land. On the Feast of St .Michael K ing Charles will make a great entertainment. But when he neither sees you norhears any tidings of you , he will fall into agreat rage

,and will smite off the heads of the

hostages. If i t be so, i t is better that theyshould lose their heads than that we should

0

232 HOW GANELON WENT ON AN ERRAND

lose this fair land of Spain .

”

And al l thechiefs of heathenry sa id : “ I t is wel l said ; solet i t be.Then said King Marsilas to certain of hislords- ten they were in number , and these themost villainous of the whole company Takeol ive-branches in your hands

,and go and say

to K ing Charles, King Marsilas prays you tohave pity upon him. He promises that

,before

a month is past he will come with a thousandloyal followers, and will receive the faith ofChrist, and will become your vassal i n al lhonour . Also he says , that if you seek forhostages you shall have them . Then theKing gave the ten lords ten white mules,whereon to ride . They had reins of gold andsaddles of s ilver. So the ten lords departedfrom Saragossa, and came to King Charles atthe city of Cordova.They found K ing Charles in great mirth and

j oyfulness . He had newly taken the fair c ityof Cordova, having broken down the wallsand towers with his engines of war, and withthe C i ty he had taken a great spoil of gold ands i lver. Of the people , too , there was not onebut had to make his cho ice between Christianbaptism and death . Now he was sitting withhis barons in a great orchard. Some played

TO KING MARSILAS 233

at cards, and some of the graver sort at chess,and the young men fenced with each other.As for the King himself, he was sitting under athorn on a great chair of gold, a right nobleman to see, with his long, white beard . Whenthe heathen ambassadors saw him they ! l ighteddown from their mules

,and paid him homage .

Then sa id their leader, Blancandrin, Glory tothe name of God ! Our master

,King Marsilas,

bids us say that, being persuaded that t he lawby which you l ive is the law of salvation , hewould fain win your favour even by the half ofhis treasures . He sends therefore l ions andbears, camels and falcons, four hundred mulesladen with gold and silver, wherewith you can

pay all your soldiers. Moreover, he says thatwhen you shall have returned to your owncountry he will follow you thither, and will beobedient to your law, and dO I

you homage forhis kingdom of Spain .

”

When King Charles heard these words hebent his head as one deep in thought. So hetarried awhile

,for his speech was never hasty.

At last he spoke : “ You have said well . Butyour King has long been my enemy. Howcan I trust these promises ? ”

Blancandrin

made answer,

“You shall have hostages, Sireten

, fifteen , twenty, as you will . My own son


shal l be one of them , and the others shall beof the nobles t of the land . So you may restassured that at the Feast of St . Michael nextensuing my master shall come to you at yourpalace at Aachen , and shall th ere consent tobecome a Christian .

”

He wil l do wel l , said King Charles ; “ ’ tisthus only that he shal l save his soul . ” Thenhe commanded that the white mules should beput into stalls , and that a tent should be pitchedin the orchard, and the ambassadors have suchentertainment as was meet.The day following K ing Charles rose early,

and having heard mass sent for his nobles,for he would do nothing without the counselof the wise men of France . So the noblescame

, Ogier the Dane among them, andTurp i n the Archbishop , and Count Roland,and with him Ol iver, his closest friend, andGanelon

,the same that was the traitor.

Then said the King, “ My lords , King

Marsilas has sent an embassy to me with manyand rich gifts , l ions and bears, and camels, andabundance of gold and si lver. Only he makesthis condition—that I go back to France andhe promises that he himself will come thither,even to Aachen

,and will there profess himself a

Christian and also do homage for his k ingdom .


of pride are not for mortal men . Have donewith fol ly, and l isten to the words of the wise .

”

Then stood up the Duke of Bavaria ; snowywhite was his beard and hair. King Charleshad no better counsellor than he . S ire, saidhe, Ganelon has given you good advice .You will do wel l to follow i t. You haveconquered King Marsilas i n this war, takenhis castles, broken down his walls, burnt histowns, and put his armies to fl ight. Now hebegs for mercy from you . Surely ’twere ac rime to ask too much . Remember, too, thathe is ready to give you hostages . Send one ofyour nobles to treat with him , for indeed it istime this war should have an end .

” So spakethe Duke of Bavaria, and all the men of Francecried out

,The Duke has spoken well .

”

But,

” said King Charles, “ whom shall wesend ? I wil l go , answered the Duke,

“ i f i tso please you . Give me the gauntlet and thes taff an ambassador should have .

“ Not so,”

said King Charles,“ you shall not go. I would

not have so wise a counsellor so far away. S ityou down .

’Tis my command ” and he spakeagain

,

“Whom shall we send to K ing Marsilas,

my lords ? I wil l go,” cried Count Roland .

“ Nay,said Ol iver, “ you are of too fiery and

fierce a sp irit . I fear that you would but ill


manage such a business. ’Tis better that Ishould go, if i t so please the King.

“ Besilent , both of you,

” said the King, “ neither ofyou shall have a hand in this matter. By thiswhite heard of mine , I declare that no one ofthe Twelve Peers shall go on this embassage. ”

Then stood up Turpin the Archbishop .

“ S ire,”said he,

“ you haVe been in this landof Spain now seven years, and your nobleshave suffered for your sake many labours andsorrows. Give me the gauntlet and the staff ; Iwil l go to this Saracen, and say somewhat tohim after my own fashion .

”

But Charles answered h im In g reat anger.By this beard you shall not do it. S it youdown again, and speak not till I bid you . Andnow,

” he went on , “ my lords, choose you foryourselves one who shall go on this errand .

Let him be a man of counsel , who can deal ablow also , i f need should be .Then said the Count Roland : “Whom

should we choose but Ganelon ? You cannotfind a better than he . And all the men ofFrance cried I t is right that he should go , ifthe King will have it so .

Said K ing Charles to Ganelon : “ Comehither

,Ganelon

,and take this gauntlet and

this staff. The vo ice of the men of France


has chosen you . You heard it. ” But Ganelonl iked not the matter at all . “ This is Roland ’sdo ing,

”

he cried . Never, so long as I l ive,will I love Roland again, no, nor Ol iver, forthat he is Roland ’s friend, nor any one of theTwelve Peers , for that they also love Roland.

Here, under your eyes , S ir K ing, I defy themall . ” “ I t profits not to be angry, cried KingCharles . “ I f I bid you , you must go.

”

“ Yes, answered Ganelon ;“ I perceive

that I must go to Saragossa, and he thatgoes thither comes not back. Remember,S ire, that I have your sister to wife. Wehave one son ; a fairer child you could notsee . One day, so he l ive, he will be a gallantknight. I leave him my lands. Have a carefor him

,I entreat you

,for I shal l never see

him more. ” “ You have too soft a heart ,”

sa id K ing Charles . “ I f I bid you, youmust go.

”

Ganelon was in great trouble of mind . Heturned him to Roland

,and said, What means

your wrath against me ? ’Tis you, as all menknow, that have put on me this errand to KingMarsilas.

’Tis well . But know that if Godsuffer me to return, I will bring upon you suchtrouble and sorrow that you shall remember i tall the days of your l ife. “ This is but folly,


i t into the K ing’s right hand So saying he

reached out the gauntlet to Ganelon with hisright hand. But when Ganelon reached outand would have taken it, i t fell to the ground .

“ This is an il l starting,” said the men of

France, “ this message wil l be the beginningof many troubles . ” “ You shall hear of themin good time, answered Ganelon . To KingCharles he said, “ S i re, give me leave todepart, since I must needs go,

’twere well tolose no time. “ Go,

” said the King, “ forour Lord Christ’s honour and for mine. Andwith his right hand he made the s ign of thecross

,and gave him absolution . At the same

time he gave him the ambassador’s staff andthe letter.Then Ganelon went to his house and clad

himself in h is finest armour. On his feet hefixed his spurs of gold , and by his s ide hebound his good sword Murgleis, and hemounted his charger Tachebrun. His uncleGuinemer held the stirrup for him . Manygallant knights wept to see him go .

“ O S ir,they cried

,

“ th is is an ill return for all theservice that you have done to the King.

Never , should Count Roland have had sucha thought . Send us, my lord, in your stead.

Nay,answered Ganelon .

“Why should


I doom so many gallant men ? Let me ratherdie alone . Do you , my friends, go back tofair France. Carry my greetings to my wifeand to my son . Keep him safe, and see thathis possessions suffer no loss.” So saying hewent on his way to Saragossa.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE TREASON OF GANELON

BEORE he had travel led far, Ganelonovertook the Saracen ambassadors, and,

indeed , Blancandrin had delayed his j ourneythat this might be so . Said the Saracen,“What a wonderful man is your K ing Charles !H e has conquered I taly, and New Rome andGermany, and is ready to lay his hands onEngland. But why is he bent on persecutingus ? ” “ Such is his will ,

” answered Ganelon,“ and there is no man of such stature as to beable to contend with him .

” “ You are bravemen , you lords of France, said Blancandrin,

“ but you serve your master i ll when you givehim such counsel. You wil l bring him todestruction, and many others with him .

”

Nay,

” said Ganelon .

“ I am not one thatdeserves such blame , nor indeed does any mandeserve i t, except Roland only. Of a truth

244 THE TREASON OF GANELON

body tremble from head to foot. Blancandrin

said, Are you minded to revenge yourself onthis Roland ? I f you be , del iver him up to us.King Marsilas is a right generous giver, andwill will ingly share h is treasures with you .

Thus the two talked together, and by the timethat they came to Saragossa they had agreedtogether to seek the means by which Rolandmight come by his death .

The King of Spain was s i tting under a pinetree on a throne that was covered with silkof Alexandria . There were thousands of hispeople around him , but not a word was said,so greatly did they all des ire to hear thetidings that Ganelon and Blancandrin mightbe bringing with them .

Blancandrin came forward and stood beforeKing Marsilas holding Ganelon by the righthand , and said ,

“ I n the name of the Prophet,health, O King. We delivered your messageto King Charles. He lifted his hands to thesky and gave thanks to God, but he made noother answer. Nevertheless he has sent toyou one of his chief nobles, who is a greatman in France.

’

Tis from him you will hearwhether you will have peace or no .

” “ Lethim speak,

” said the K ing, “ and we willl isten .

”

THE TREASON OF GANELON 245

Ganelon stood a while,thinking within

himself. Then he began to speak,nor could

any one have spoken better. “ Health, O

King, in the name of God, the God of Glory,to whom all honour is due . Hear now whatK ing Charles commands . You must receivethe Christian Faith. Then will he grant untoyou half of the land of Spain to be held of him .

The other half he grants to the Count Roland .

Verily you will have a proud companion ! I fthis please you not, then he will lay siege toSaragossa, will take you captive and carry youto Aachen , where he has his Imperial Throne .

There shall sentence be pronounced upon you ,and you will end your days in shame .

”

The King’s face was changed with angerwhen he heard these words. He had a gildedstaff in his hand, and would have struckGanelon therewith , but that by good fortunehis people held him back. When Ganelonsaw it, he drew his sword two fingers ’ breadthout of the scabbard.

“ Sword, he said, thouart fair and bright . So long as I have thee inmy hands the King of France shall not saythat I perished alone in the land of strangers ;no verily

,but their best warriors shall have

paid for my death with their blood.

”

And now King Marsilas had been persuaded


to s it down again on his throne . “ You hadput yourself in evil case ,

” said his Vizier to him,

had you struck this Frenchman . Rather youmust l isten to his words . ”

“ S ire ,” said Ganelon , “ I wil l put up with

th is affront, but never will I consent, for all thetreasures that there are in this land , nay, notfor al l the gold that God has made, not tospeak the words that K ing Charles has commanded me to speak . And he threw to theground his mantle of sable, covered with s ilkof Alexandria ; but his sword he kept, holdingits h ilt in his right hand .

“ This is a noblebaron

,said the heathen ch iefs .

Then Ganelon spoke the same words asbefore , and when he had ended them, he gaveKing Charles ’s letter into the K ing’s hand .

Now KingMarsilas was a scholar, having learntin the schools of the heathen . So when he hadbroken the seal of the letter, he read i t fromend to end ; and having read it, the tears cameinto his eyes with rage

,and he pulled his beard

,

and cried with a loud voice,Listen, my lords,

to this fool ishness . Charles, who is K ing ofFrance, bids me remember the two ambassadorswhom I beheaded, and commands me, i f Iwould redeem my l i fe, to send him my Vizier.If I fail in this, he will be my enemy for ever.


many countries he has passed and how manyb lows has he taken on his shield

, and whatmighty kings has he brought to beg theirbread ! When, think you, will he be tired of

waging war Surely ’tis time that he shouldbe taking rest at Aachen .

”

Ganelon answered, You do not know KingCharles the Great . N0 man is a better knightthan he, so say al l that know him . As

“formyself, I cannot praise him enough ; I hadrather die than cease to be one of his barons.But for h is ceasing to make war, that cannotbe so long as Roland l ives . There is no suchknight in all the East . A right val iant warrior

,

too,is Roland ’s companion, Ol iver right val iant

are the Twelve Peers also . Of a truth K ingCharles need fear no man al ive. ”

“ But,

” answered the King, “ there i s nopeople that can be compared with mine. Fourhundred thousand horsemen I have with whomto fight against K ing Charles and his French

Nmen .

“ Yet,” said Ganelon , “ i t is not thus

that you will answer him . Rather will you losethousands and thousands of your soldiers .

Listen now to my counsel . Give the K ingmoney in abundance give him hostages . Thenhe will go back to France, and so going he w i llleave behind him his rearguard . In the rear

THE TREASON OF GANELON 249

guard I know well will be Roland,his nephew

,

and Ol iver, who is Roland’s companion . And

being there , they are doomed to die. So wil lthe great pride of King Charles have a fall .Never again . will he rise to wage war againstyou.

“ Ganelon, said the King, tell us moreplainly yet how I shall slay this Roland.

”

Ganelon answered, He and twenty thousandmen of France will be in the rear of the King ’sarmy . I t is your part, my lord, to gather yourwhole host. Send against them first a hundredthousand of your Saracens. I do not denythat they will be destroyed , but, on the otherhand, the men of France will receive greatdamage Then engage them in a secondbattle. I t is not possible that Roland shouldescape both from one and from the other.And if he be slain, then you have taken fromKing Charles his right hand . France will haveno more her marvellous armies ; never againwill K ing Charles lead such hosts into battle.So Spain will at last have peace. ”

“ Swear that this shall be,” said the King ;

and Ganelon swore that i t should be on hissword Murgleis. Then they brought to theK ing a great book in which was written thelaw of Mahomet, and the King made a great


oath upon it, that if by any means i t could beso ordered , Roland should die and the TwelvePeers with him . May our purpose be accom

plished cried Ganelon .

Then the chiefs of the heathen came oneafter another to Ganelon with gifts in theirhands . First came a certain Valdabrun.

“Takethis sword ,

” he said “ no man has a better.The pommel and h llt are worth a thousandcrowns . Let it be the pledge of our friendship.

Only help us to bring Roland to his deatI t shall be -done, said Ganelon .

Then came one Ch imborin.

“ Take thishelmet,

” he said ; “ no man has a better .See this great carbuncle that gl itters on thevizor. Only help us to slay Roland.

” I tshal l be done, said Ganelon .

Then came Queen Branimonde. S i r,

” saidsh e,

“ I regard you greatly. My lord and allhis people much esteem you . I would sendto your w ife two bracelets. They are ofamethysts

,rub ies

,and gold . Your King has

not,I wel l know, the l ike. Ganelon took the

bracelets from her hand , and he stowed themin his riding-boot.King Marsilas said to his treasurer, “ Have

you made ready the presents that I purposeto send to King Charles ? ” The treasurer

CHAPTER XXV I I

OF THE PLOT AGAINST ROLAND

ND now King Charles had come on hishomeward journey to the city of Volterra

(Count Roland had taken it and laid it in ruinsthree years before). There he awaited Ganelonand the tribute of Spain , and before many dayshad passed the trai tor came . “ S ire ,

” said he,

I greet you in the name of God . I bring youthe keys of Saggossa, also great treasure whichKingMarsilas has sent you, and twenty hostages,the noblest in the land . King Marsilas alsobids me say that he is not to be blamed becausehe does not send the Viz ier. The Vizier

,with

many thousands of armed men, took ship—I

saw them with my own eyes—because theywere not content to accept the law of Christ.But before they had sailed four leagues, therecame suddenly upon them a great storm ofw ind, so that their ships sank. You wi ll never

252

OF THE PLOT AGAINST ROLAND 253

see them more, for they were all drowned. Asfor the K ing himself, you may rest assured thatbefore this month is spent he will follow youto France , and that he will receive the law ofChrist, and will become your vassal holdingthe kingdom of Spain from you.

” Thanksbe to God for al l these blessings, cried theKing. And to Ganelon he said, “ You haveserved me well, and shall have due recom

pense . ”

Then the trumpets sounded, and the armywent on its way to France. That night theK ing had a certa in dream in his sleep. Hethought that he stood in the pass of Ciz ra,holding in his hand an ashen spear, and thatGanelon laid hold of it and shook it in sucha fashion that it ’ was broken into a thousandpieces, and the fragments flew up to the sky.

After th is he had another dream . He was inhis chapel at h is city of Aachen , and a bear bithim so cruelly on the right arm that the fleshwas broken even to the bone . After the bearthere came a leopard from the Ardennes, whichmade as if i t would attack him . And 10 ! agreyhound came forth from the hall , and ranto him with great bounds . First the greyhoundlaid hold of the bear by the right ear, and thenit assailed the leopard furiously .

’Tis a great

254 OF THE PLOT AGAINST ROLAND

fight, cried they who stood by, but no oneknew who wou ld prevail .The next day the King called his lords

together. “ You see , said he, “ these narrowpasses . Whom shal l I plac e to command therearguard ? Choose you a man yourselves .

”

Said Ganelon, “ Whom should we choose butmy son-in-law, Count Roland ? You have noman in your host so val iant. Of a truth hewill be the salvation of France . The Kingsaid when he heard these words, “What ailsyou, Ganelon ? You look like to one possessed.But tell me—who shall command my vanguard ? ”

Let Ogier the Dane be the man ,” answered

Ganelon . There is no one who could acquithimself better. ”

When Count Roland knew what was proposed concerning him , he spake out as a trueknight should speak .

“ I am right thankful toyou , my father-in-law, that you have causedme to be put in this place. Of a truth theKing of France shall lose nothing by mymeans

,neither charger, nor mule, nor pack

horse, n

’

or beast of burden .

” “ You speaktruly

,

” said Ganelon I know it well . ” ThenRoland turned to him again , and said , “ Villainthat you are

,and come of a race of villains,

did you think perchance that I should let the


of their homes and their wives and daughters .

There was not one of ‘ them but wept for verytenderness of heart. But of all that companythere was none sadder of heart than the Kinghimself, when he thought how he had left hisnephew Count Roland behind him in thepasses of Spain . Duke Naymes, who rodebeside him, said , “What troubles you ? ”

There is cause enough, answered Charles .I fear me much that this Ganelon will be theruin of France. Did he not cause me to leaveRoland behind me in the passes ? And if Ilose my nephew when shall I find his l ikeagain ? ” And he told the Duke of his dream,

how Ganelon had broken the spear that heheld in his hands .

And now King Marsilas began to gather. hisarmy. He laid a s trict command on all hisnobles and chiefs that they should bring withthem to Saragossa as many men as they couldgather together. And when they were cometo the city, i t being the third day from theissuing of the King ’s command

,they saluted

the great image of Mahomet, the false prophet,that stood on the topmost tower. This donethey went forth from the city gates . Theymade all haste, marching across the mountainsand valleys of Spain til l they came in s ight of

OF THE PLOT AGAINST ROLAND 257

the S tandard of France, w here Roland andOl iver and the Twelve Peers were ranged inbattle array .

The nephew of King Marsilas rode to thefront of the army and said to ! his uncle

,

“ Sire,

I have served you faithfully, enduring muchlabour and trouble, fighting many battles

,and

winning not a few victories. And now all thereward that I ask is that you suffer me tosmite down this Roland. I will slay him withthe po int of my spear if Mahomet will helpme . So shall I del iver Spain from the enemy

,

these Frenchmen will give themselves up toyou, and you shal l have no more wars al l thedays of your l ife.When King Marsilas heard these words, he

reached out his hand, and gave his gauntlet tohis nephew . Then said the young man , “ Youhave given me a noble gift, my uncle.

“Nowchoose me eleven of your nobles, and we willfight with the Twelve Peers of France. ”

The first that came forth to offer himself forthe battle was Fausseron, the King

’s brother.“ My lord nephew,

” said he, we w i ll gotogether

,you and I—between us we shall win’

this victory . Woe to King Charles’s rearguard. We will destroy it to a man .

”

The nex t that stood up was Corsablis, King18


of Barbary. He was an evil man and atreacherous , but that day he spoke as a loyalvassal of the K ing.

“ This is no time, hesaid,

“ for drawing back . I f I find Roland, Iwill attack him without delay. After him rosenine other chiefs, till the number of championswas accompl ished, twelve against the TwelvePeers of France.The Saracen champ ions donned the ir coats

of mail , of double substance most of them , and

they set upon their heads helmets of Saragossaof well-tempered metal , and they girded themselves with swords of Vienna. Fa ir were thei rsh ields to view, their lances were from Valentia ,their standards were of white, blue, and red.

Their mules they left with the ir servants, and ,mounting their chargers, so moved forwards.Fair was the day and bright the sun

,as their

armour flashed in the l ight and the drums werebeaten so loudly that the Frenchmen heard thesound .

Said Ol iver to Roland, “ Comrade, methinkswe shall soon do battle with the Saracens . ”

“ God grant it,

” answered Roland .

“ ’Tis ourduty to hold the place for the King, and wewill do i t, come what may . As for me, I wil lnot set an il l example.

260 HOW THE HEATHEN AND THE FRENCH

hundred thousand at the least . We shall havesuch a battle with them as has never beforebeen fought. My brethren of France, quit youl ike men , be strong ; stand firm that you benot conquered .

” And al l the army shoutedwith one voice,

“ Cursed be he that shall fly.

Then Ol iver turned to Roland, and said ,Sound your horn , my friend , Charles wi llhear it, and wi ll return .

“ I were a fool,answered Roland ,

“ so to do. Not so ; but Iwill deal these heathen some mighty blowswith Durendal my sword . They have beenill-advised to venture into these passes. Iswear that they are condemned to death oneand aHf

’

After a while, Ol iver said aga in, “ FriendRoland, sound your horn of ivory . Then willthe K ing return , and bring his army with him ,

to our help .

’ But Roland answered again,I will not do dishonour to my kinsmen , or tothe fair land of France. I have my sword ;that shall suffice for me. These evi l-mindedheathen are gathered together against us totheir own hurt. Surely not one of them shallescape from death .

” “As for me,” said

Ol iver, “ I see not where the dishonour wouldbe. I saw the valleys and the mountainscovered with

~

the great multitude of Saracens .

PREPARED FOR BATTLE 26 1

Theirs Is In truth, a mighty array, and we arebut few. So much the better

,

” answeredRoland.

“ I t makes my courage grow.

’Tisbetter to die than to be disgraced . And t e

member, the harder our blows the more theKing will love us . ”

Roland was brave, but Ol iver was wise.Consider,

” he said , “ comrade. Theseenemies are over-near to us, and the Kingover-far. Were he here, we should not be indanger ; but there are some here to-day whowill never fight in another battle.Then Turpin the Archbishop struck spursinto his horse, and rode to a hil ltop . Thenhe turned to the men of France, and spakeLords of France, King Charles has left ushere our King he is, and it is our duty to diefor him . To-day our Christian Faith is inperil : do ye fight for i t. Fight ye must ; besure of that, for there under your eyes are theSaracens . Confess, therefore, your s ins, andpray to God that He have mercy upon you.

And now for your soul ’s health I will give youal l absolution . I f you die, you will be God

’

smartyrs

,every one of you, and your places are

ready for you in H is Paradise .”

Thereupon the men of France dismounted,and knelt upon the ground, and the Archbishop

262 HOW THE HEATHEN AND THE FRENCH

blessed them in God ’s name. “ But look,said he, “ I set you a penance—smite thesepagans . ” Then the men of France rose totheir feet. They had received absolution , andwere set free from all their s ins, and the Archb ishop had blessed them in the name of God .

After this they mounted their swift steeds, andclad themselves i n armour, and made themselves ready for the battle .Said Roland to Ol iver, Brother, you know

that i t is Ganelon who has betrayed us . Goodstore he has had of gold and silver as a reward’tis the King Marsilas that has made merchandise of us, but verily i t is with our swordsthat he shall be paid .

” So saying, he rode onto the pass, mounted on his good steed Veillantif.H is spear he held with the point to the sky ;a white flag it bore with fringes of gold whichfel l down to his hands . A stalwart man washe

,and his countenance was fair and smiling .

Behind him followed Ol iver, his friend ; andthe men of France po inted to him , saying,“ See our champ ion ! ” Pride was in his eyewhen he looked towards the Saracens ; but tothe men of France his regard was al l sweetnessand humil ity. Full courteously he spake tothem :

“ Ride not so fast, my lords, he said“ verily these heathen are come hither, seeking

CHAPTER XXIX

THE BATTLE

HE first that rode forth from the arrayof the heathen was fElroth , nephew to

King Marsilas. Good were his arms, and hishorse was both swift and strong. Grievouswere the reproaches that he uttered againstthe men of France. “ Are you come,

” saidhe, “ ye robbers of France, to fight with usto-day ? Know ye not that he who shouldhave helped you has betrayed you ? Verily,a fool was your Emperor to leave you in thesepasses, for the honour of fair France hasperished to-day, and the great Charles haslost

,as i t were, the right arm from his body.

So shall Spain have peace at last. ”

Roland heard these words with great griefin his heart. He spurred his steed with spursofg old, and smote the heathen warrior with allhis might . He brake his shield in twain, and

204

THE BATTLE 205

severed the mail of his hauberk , and clave h isbody into two parts. A mighty stroke it was

,

and Roland cried aloud as he dealt i t, Learnnow, thou wretch, that K ing Charles knowswell

.

what he does . He loves not treason ortraitors . I t was well done of him to leave usin these passes . France shall have no loss ofhonour this day. Strike , ,

men of France,

strike ! The first blood is for us ; these dogsof heathen shal l suffer for their misdeeds.Then came forth a Duke from the host of theSaracens, brother to K ing Marsilas, Fausseronby name . Never was a man on the earth moreinsolent and villainous. When he saw that hisnephew was dead it cut him to the heart. Herushed out of the crowd , and, shouting out thebattle-cry of the heathen, hurled himself on theranks of France. Fair France,

” said he,“ shall lose her honour this day .

” Great wasthe rage of Ol iver when he heard these misch ievous words . He struck his spurs of goldinto his charger ’s flanks, and smote Fausseronwith a right knightly blow. His shield heshore in twain

,and burst the l inks of his

hauberk,and hurled him dead from his saddle .

Lie there,he said.

“Who cares for thythreats

,thou coward ! And, turning to the

Frenchmen,he cried, “ Strike, friends , strike !

200 THE BATTLE

and we shall conquer the enemy . Mountj oy !’Tis the King

’

s own battle-cry !Then came forth another King

, Corsablis

by name. From the distant land of Barbaryhe came . He cried to his fel lows in the armyof the heathen , “ Easily can we bear up thebattle. Few are these Frenchmen, and of noaccount . Not a man of them shall escape, norshall Charles their K ing help them . Verilythe day has come for them to die. ” Turp inthe Archbishop heard him—not one was therein all the heathen host whom Turpin morehated—and charged him , spear in hand, andbore him dead to the ground .

Full many of the heathen warriors fell thatday. Not one of the Twelve Peers of Francebut slew his man . But of all none bare himself so valiantly as Roland . Many a blow didhe deal to the enemy with his mighty spear,and when the spear was shivered in his hand,fifteen warriors having fallen before it, then he

seized his good sword Durendal, and smoteman after man to the ground. Red was hewith the blood of his enemies . Red was hishauberk

,red his arms, red his shoulders,

aye,and the neck of his horse . Not one of

the Twelve l ingered in the rear, or was slowto strike

,but Count Roland was the bravest of

208 THE BATTLE

men of France. Many lances were shivered,many flags torn , and many gallant youths cutoff in their prime. Never more would theysee mother and wife. I t was an ill deed thatthe traitor Ganelon wrought when he sold h isfellows to K ing Marsilas !

And now there befel l a new trouble. KingAlmaris, with a great host of heathen, comingby an unknown way, fell upon the rear of thehost where there was another pass. Fiercelydid the noble Walter that kept the same chargethe new-comers, but they overpowered him andhis fol lowers . He was wounded with fourseveral lances, and four times did he swoon ,so that at the last he was constrained to leavethe field of battle , that he might call the CountRoland to his aid . But small was the aidwhich Roland could give him or any one .

Valiantly he held up the battle, and with himOl iver, and Turp in the Archbishop, and othersalso but the l ines of the men of France werebroken , and their armour thrust through , andtheir spears shivered, and their flags trodden inthe dust. For all this they made such slaughteramong the heathen that King Almaris, wholed the armies of the enemy, scarcely couldwin back his way to his own peopl e, woundedin four places and sorely spent. A r ight good

THE BATTLE 209

warrior was he ; had he but been a Christianbut few had matched h im in battle I

He came to King Marsilas, where he stoodamong his princes, and fell at his feet ; forindeed there was no strength left in him. Tohorse ! he

‘

c ried,“ my lord, to horse ! You

will find the men of France worn out with theslaughter that they have wrought among us .Their spears are shivered and their swordsbroken a full half of them are dead, and theythat are left have no strength remaining inthem . I t wil l cost you but l ittle to takevengeance for the multitudes whom they haveslain . Bel ieve me, my lord, these Frenchmenare ready to be conquered .

”

Then King Marsilas bade his host advance.A mighty army it was, divided into twentycolumns, and the trumpets sounded the charge.Never was heard such 2 din in the land !“Ol iver, my

'

comrade,” said Roland, when he

heard it, “ this tra itor Ganelon has sworn ourdeath .

1 But i f he compass i t, surely our Kingwill take a terrible vengeance. But as for us,we must do our duty as good knights, forveri ly this battle will be no child ’s play. Strikethou with thy sword Hautclere, and I wil lstrike with my sword Durendal. Many a timehave we w ielded them s ide by s ide ; many a

270 THE BATTLE

victory have we won with them . Verily if wefall this day, these pagans shal l not despise us .

”

The Archbishop, on his part, Spake wordsof comfort to his people. “ Let no one thinkof fl ight,

” he said ;“ never shall these heathen

make songs upon us. ’Tis better far to diei n battle. And if we die, as wel l may be,there is this of which I can assure you : the

gates of Paradise shal l be Open to you. Tomorrow, i f so i t be, you shall have a placeamong the saints . Then the men of Francetook fresh courage and made themselves readyfor the battle.K ing Marsilas sa id to his people, Listen

to me. This Roland is a great warrior ; i t w i l lbe no easy thing to conquer him . One battlewe have fought against h im and not prevai lednow w ill we fight another ; i f need be, andyou will follow me, we will fight even a third.Of these twenty columns ten shal l set themselves in array against the men of France, andten shal l remain with me. As I l ive, beforethis day is over, the power of K ing Charlesshall be broken . So saying he gave abanner

,richly embro idered, to the Emir Gran

doigne Lead your men against the French ,”

sa id he “this shall be your warrant from me.

So the K ing abode where he was on the

272 THE BATTLE

Said Roland to Ol iver, Comrade,see

Engelier the Gascon is slain ; we had nobraver knight in the host. ” God grant that Imay avenge him,

” answered Ol iver, and struckspurs into his horse. I n his hand was histrusty sword Hautclere, i ts blade red withblood. Therewith he smote Chimborin somighty a blow that he slew both man andhorse. Nex t he slew the Duke Alphais.

E ight other Arab warriors he struck downfrom their sadd les, and in such sort they wouldnever jo in in the battle any more. My oomrade is in a goodly rage,

” cried Roland theseare the blows that make K ing Charles loveus . S trike, men of France, strike and ceasenot !The nex t that rode forth was the Emir

Valdabrun, the same that had given to Ganelonthe sword . He was a great ruler of the sea.Four hundred ships he had, and there was nota sailor but complained of his robberies . Thesame had taken -by treachery and slain thePatriarch of Antioch with the sword . Thisman smote Duk

‘

e Samson, breaking with hisspear both shield and hauberk, and so did himto death . So shall all these wretches perish,

”

he cried . And the men of France were sorelydismayed .

THE BATTLE 273

When Roland saw that the Duke Samsonwas dead, he rode fiercely at Valdabrun,

andsmote him so mightily with his great swordDurendal that he clave in twain helmet

,head

,

and body, and saddle, and the very backboneof the horse, so that both fell dead together,both man and horse.After this Malquidant, son of King Malquid

of Africa slew Ansol. Him the Archbishopspeedily avenged . Never priest that sangmass was so sturdy a warrior as he . With oneblow of his good Toledo sword he slew theAfrican .

“ He smites sore, does the ArchbishOp !

” cried al l the men of France whenthey saw the deed .

After this Grandoigne, who was the leaderof the host of heathen, entered the battle.Five knights , val iant men of war all of them,

he slew one after the other, so that the men ofFrance cried

,How fast they fall, these

champions of ours l ”

Roland heard the cry, and it went near tobreak his heart

,so great was his wrath . He

rode straight at Grandoigne, and these twomet in the middle space between the hosts.Among the heathen no man was braver orbetter at arms than Grandoigne, but he was nomatch for Roland . They had scarce met in

I 9

274

the shock of battle when Roland with one

mighty blow cleft him to his saddle , aye, andslew the horse on which he rode . Many othervaliant deeds he wrought that day, nor did

Ol iver lag behind , nor Turpin the Archb ishop,riding on the famous horse which he tookfrom the K ing of Denmark. But though theseand others also bore themselves right bravely,such was the multitude of the Saracens that inthe end it carried al l before it. Four t imesdid the host of the Saracens advance, fourtimes did the Frenchmen beat it back. Butwhen it advanced for the fifth time, th ingswent il l for the Christians . Great was theprice at which they sold their l ives ; butscarcely threescore were left.

270 HOW ROLAND SOUNDED HIS HORN

Now I l ike it not . ’Tis not for a brave man

to sound the horn and cry for help now thatwe are in such case . The battle is toohard for us,

” said Roland again,

“ and Ishall sound my horn , that the King may hear.And Ol iver answered again , “When I gaveyou this counsel , you scorned it. Now Imyself l ike it not. ’Tis true tha t had the Kingbeen here, we had not sufiered this loss. Butthe blame is not his . ’Tis your folly, CountRoland, that has done to death all these menof France . But for that we should haveconquered in this battle, and have taken andslain K ing Marsilas. But now we can donothing for France and the King. We canbut die . Woe is me for our country, aye, andfor our friendship, which will come to a grievousend this day .

”

The A rchbishop had perceived that the twowere at variance, and spurred his horse til l hecame where they stood . Listen to me, hesaid

,

“ Sir Roland and S ir Ol iver . I imploreyou not to fall out with each other In thisfashion . We, sons of France, that are in th isplace

,are of a truth condemned to death,

neither will the sounding of your horn save us,for the K ing is far away, and cannot come intime. Nevertheless, I hold it to be wel l that

HOW ROLAND SOUNDED HIS HORN 2 77

you should sound it. When the King and hisarmy shall come, they will find us dead—that Iknow full well . But they will avenge us

,so

that our enemies shall not go away rejoicing.

And they will also recover our bodies,and

will carry them away for burial in holy places,

so that the dogs and wolves shall not devourthem.

”

“ You say well , cried Roland, and he puthis horn to his l ips, and gave so mighty a blastupon it, that the sound was heard thirty leaguesaway. K ing Charles and his men heard it

,

and the King said, “ Our countrymen arefighting with the enemy.

” But Ganelonanswered, “ S ire, had any but you so spoken,I had said that he spoke falsely .

”

Then Roland blew his horn a second time ;with great pain and anguish of body he blewit,and the red blood gushed from his l ips ;

but the sound was heard yet further than atfirst . The King hea rd it, and all his nobles,and all his men . That,

” said he, “ is Roland ’shorn ; he never had sounded it were he not inbattle with the enemy .

” But Ganelon answeredagain : “ Believe me, Sire, there is no battle .You are an old man, and you have the fanciesof a child . You know What a mighty man ofvalour is this Roland . Think you that any

278 HOW ROLAND SOUNDED HIS HORN

one would dare to attack him ? N0 one, of atruth . Ride on , S ire, why hal t you here ?The fair land of France is yet far away .

”

Roland blew his horn a third time, and

when the K ing heard it he said,

“ He thatblew that horn drew a deep breath .

” AndDuke Naymes cried out, “ Roland is introuble ; on my conscience he is fighting withthe enemy . Some one has betrayed him ;

’tishe, I doubt not, that would deceive you now.

To arms,S ire ! utter your war-c ry, and h elp

your own house and your country. You havehea rd the cry of the noble Roland .

Then King Charles bade al l the! trumpetssound , and forthwith all the men of Francearmed themselves

,with helmets

,and hauberks,

and swords with pummels of gold . Mightywere their sh ields

,and their lances strong, and

the flags that they carried were white and redand blue . And when they made an end oftheir arming they rode back with al l haste.There was not one of them but said to hiscomrade

,

“ I f we find Roland yet al ive, whatmighty strokes will we strike for him ! ”

But Ganelon the K ing handed over to theknaves of his kitchen .

“ Take this traitor,

”

said he,

“ who has sold his country. I l l didGanelon fare among them . They pulled out

CHAPTER XXX I

HOW OLIVER WAS SLA IN

OUNT ROLAND looked round on themountain-s ides and on the plains . Alas

how many noble sons of France he saw lyingdead upon them ! Dear friends,

” he said,

weep ing as he spoke, “ may God have mercyon you and receive you into H is Paradise !More loyal followers have I never seen . Howis the fair land of France widowed of herbravest, and I can give you no help . Ol iver

,

dear comrade,we must not part. I f the enemy

slay me not here,surely I shall be slain by

sorrow Come,then, let us smite these

heathen .

Thus did Roland again charge the enemy,his good sword Durendal in h is hand ; as thestag fl ies before the hounds, so did the heathenfly before Roland .

“ By my faith, cried theArchbishop when he saw him ,

“ that is a right

HOW OLIVER WAS SLAIN 281

good knight ! Such courage, and such a steed,and such arms I love well to see . I f a man benot brave and a stout fighter, he had betterby far be a monk in some cloister where hemay pray all day long for our sins . ”

But Roland cried again, Strike home, menhave no mercy on these heathen dogs. ” Sosaying he charged the enemy, and on the others ide King Marsilas came out to meet him. Agreat warrior was he, and his horse was fleeterthan a falcon . First he slew Beuvon ofBurgundy, and I van, and Gerard and othertwo five knights he met, five he slew, but thesixth was the Count Roland himself. “ Curseupon you ! ” cried the Count ; “ you have slainmy comrades ; verily you shall not go scatheb ss hence. ” Thereupon with one blow hesmote off his right hand, and with another heshore off the head of the king

’s son Jurfalew.

“ Help us, Mahomet l”

Cl‘

lCCl the heathen .

How these vil lains fight ! They die ratherthan fly from the field of battle ! ” And KingMarsilas, throwing down his shield upon theground fled from out the battle, and thousandsfled Wi th him

,crying aloud, Verily, the

nephew of King Charles has won the day.

But alas ! though the King fled, the Caliphremained. He was King of Carthage and of

282 HOW OLIVER WAS'

SLAIN

the whole land of E thiop ia. Chief of theblack race was he, and a mighty man of valour.Fifty thousand warriors fol lowed him ; blackerthan ink were they all , and w ith nothing thatwas white about them save only thei r teeth .

“We have but a short time to l ive,” cried

Roland, when he saw the new host advancingto the battle. But cursed would he be thatdoes not sel l his l ife dearly S trike

,comrades,

strike ! Let what will befall us , France shal lnot suffer disgrace . When the King shall cometo see this field of battle, for one of us that heshall find dead there shall be full fifteen of theSaracens . He cannot but bless us for suchvalour. ‘ And Ol iver cried aloud , “ I ll luck toall laggards ! And the men of France thatremained threw themselves upon the enemy.

But the heathen , when they saw how fewthey were

,took fresh courage. And the

Cal iph,spurring his horse, rode against Ol iver

and smote him in the middle of his back,making his spear pass right through him .

“ That is a shrewd blow,

” he cried ;“ I have

avenged my friends and countrymen upon

ou .

”

YThen Ol iver knew he was stricken to death,but he would not fal l unavenged. With hisgreat sword Hautclere he smote the Caliph

284 HOW OLIVER WAS SLAIN

i t was not done of set purpose. I t harmedme not,

” answered Roland ;“ with al l my

heart and before God I forgive you . Andthis was the way these two friends parted atthe last.And now Ol iver felt the pains of death come

over him . He could no longer see nor hear.Therefore he turned his thoughts to makinghis peace with God, and clasp ing his handsl ifted them to heaven and made his confession .

“ O Lord,”be said, “ take me into Paradise.

And do Thou bless King Charles and thesweet land of France. ” And when he hadsa id thus he died. And Roland looked at himas he lay. There was not upon earth a moresorrowful man than he .

“ Dear comrade,” he

said,

“ th is is indeed an evil day. Many ayear have we two been together. Never haveI done wrong to you ; never have you donewrong to me. How shall I bear to l ive without you ? ” And again he swooned where hesat on his horse . But the stirrup held him upthat he did not fall to the ground.

CHAPTER XXXI I

HOW ARCHBISHOP TURPIN DIED

HEN Roland came to himself he lookedabout him and saw how great was the

calamity that had befallen his army. For nowthere were left al ive to him two only

,Turpin

the Archbishop and Walter of Hum. Walterhad but that moment come down from the hillswhere he had been fighting so fiercely with theheathen that all his men were dead ; now hecried to Roland for help . Noble Count

,

where are you ? I am Walter of Hum , andam not unworthy to be your friend. Help metherefore . For see how my spear is brokenand my shield cleft in twain, my hauberk is inpieces , and my body sorely wounded . I amabout to die ; but I have sold my life at agreat price .” When Roland heard him cry heset spurs to his horse and galloped to him .

“Walte r, said he, “ you are a brave warr ior285

286 HOW ARCHBISHOP TURPIN DIED

and a trustworthy. Tell me now where arethe thousand val iant men whom you took frommy army. They were right good soldiers, andI am in sore need of them .

“ They are dead, answered Walter ; “ youwill see them no more. A sore battle we hadwith the Saracens yonder on the hills ; theyhad the men of Canaan there and the men ofArmenia and the Giants there were no bettermen in their army than these. We dealt withthem so that they will not boast themselves ofthis day ’s work. But i t cost us dear ; all themen of Francel ie dead on the plain , and I amwounded to the death . And now, Roland,blame me not that I fled ; for you are mylord , and al l my trust is in you .

I blame you not, said Roland, “ only aslong as you l ive help me against the heathen .

”

And as he spake he took his cloak and rentit into strips and bound up Walter ’s woundstherewrth . This done he and Walter and theArchbishop set fiercely on the enemy . Fiveand -twenty did Roland slay, and Walter slews ix

,and the Archbishop five. Three val iant

men of war they were ; fast and firm theystood one by the other ; hundreds there wereof the heathen , but they dared not come nearto the three val iant champ ions of France.


strongest and most val iant knights that werein the army of the heathen , gathered themselves into one company, and made a yetfiercer assault on Roland .

Roland saw them coming, and waited forthem without fear. SO long as he l ived hewould not yield himself to the enemy or giveplace to them .

“ Better death than fl ight,”

said he, as he mounted his good steed Veillantif,and rode towards the enemy. And by his s idewent Turpin the Archbishop on foot. Thensaid Roland to Turpin , “ I am on horsebackand you are on foot . But let us keep together ;never wil l I l eave you ; we two will standagainst these heathen dogs . They have not,I warrant, among them such a sword asDurendal.

” “ Good, answered the Archbishop.

“ Shame to the man who does notsmite his hardest. And though this be our

last battle , I know well that K ing Charles wi lltake ample vengeance for us.When the heathen saw these two s tand

together they fel l back in fear and hurled atthem spears and darts and javel ins withoutnumber. Roland ’s shield they broke and hishauberk ; but him they hurt not ; neverthelessthey did him a grievous injury, for they killedhis good steed Veillantif. Thirty wounds did

HOW ARCHBISHOP TURPIN DIED 289

Veillantif receive, and he fell dead under hismaster . Roland stood alone, for the heathenhad fled from his presence , alone and on foot .Fain would he have followed after the enemy ;but he could not. Then he bethought him ofthe Archbishop ; when he looked, he saw himlaid upon the plain . He unlaced his helmetand took the corslet from off him

,and bound

up his wounds with strips of his shirt of silk,

and taking him in his arms laid him downsoftly on the grass . This done, he said tohim,

“ Dear friend, suffer me to leave youawhile. All our comrades, the men whom weloved so much , are dead . Yet we must notleave them lying where they are. Listen then .

I will go and seek for their bodies , and I willbring them hither, and set them in order before

you . Go,said the Archbishop, “ and come

back as soon as you may. The field is left tome and to you . Thanks be to God for thesame !Then Roland went to seek his comrades .Alone he went

,and passed over all the field

of battle . He searched the mountains , hesearched the valley . There he found the deadbodies of Gerier and of Engelier the Gascon ,of Berenger and of Otho ; and of others also.

All the Peers of France he found where they20


lay. Then he carried them one by one andset them all on their knees before the Archbishop . Turpin could not choose but weepwhen he saw these brave comrades dead . Heraised his hand and gave them his blessing.

“ Friends, said he, “ an evil fate has overtaken you in th is world may the God of gloryreceive you in the world to come !Now Roland went again and search ed the

plain t ill he found the body of his comradeOl iver. Under a thorn he found it, and heraised i t tenderly in his arms, and brought itback to where the Archbishop sat, and put it'hard by the other Peers of France. AndTurpin gave him also bless ing and absolution .

This done, Roland said with many tears,Ol iver, my brave comrade, never was therea better knight than you to break a lance,and shatter a shield , to give good counsel tothe brave, and to put to shame traitors andcowards . ” And when he had said this helooked round on that fair company of the dead,and his heart failed within him . Such goodlyknights they were , and so dear to him, andnow they were gone . And he fel l in a swoonupon the ground .

When the Archbishop saw him fall he reachedout his hand and laid hold of the horn . There

HOW ARCHBISHOP TURPIN DIED 291

was a spring of water in the place , and hewould fain give a draught to his comrade.Gathering all that he had of strength together,he l ifted himself from the ground, stumblingand staggering he went, but his strength didnot suffice for the task before he had gone thelength of a furlong he fell staggering to theground, and the agony of death came uponhim .

Roland came out of his swoon and liftedhimself from the ground. He looked downand he looked up, and 10 ! on the other sideof his dead comrades, stretched on the greengrass, lay the great prince , the Archbi shop .

His l ife was well - nigh spent. “ I havesinned

,

” he said , and he clasped his handsand l ifted them to heaven , and prayed to Godthat he would take him into Paradise . Andwith these words he died . This was the endof Turpin . Never was there a man who dealtwith the heathen with mightier blows orweightier discourse . May the blessing ofGod be upon him !When Roland saw that the Archbishop wasdead

,his heart was sorely troubled in him .

Never did he feel a greater sorrow for comradeslain

,save Ol iver only.

“ Charles of France,he said

,

“ come as quickly as you may, many


a gallant knight have you lost in Roncesval les.But King Marsilas, on his part, has lost hisarmy. For one that has fallen on this s idethere has fallen ful l forty on that. ” So sayinghe turned to the Archbishop ; he crossed thedead man ’s hands upon his breast and said, “ Icommit thee to the Father’s mercy. Neverhas man served his God with a better will ,never s ince the beginning of the world hasthere l ived a sturdier champion of the fai th .

May God be good to you and give you all

good things

294 THE DEATH OF ROLAND

upon he took the sword in one hand,with the

other he laid hold of Roland ’s beard. But asthe man laid hold , Roland came to himself, andknew that some one was taking his sword fromhim . He opened his eyes but not a word didhe speak save this only, Fellow, you are noneof ours, and he smote him a mighty blow uponhis helmet. The steel he brake through andthe head beneath , and laid the man dead at hisfeet. “ Coward,

” he said, what made you sobold that you dared lay hands on Roland ?

Whosoever knows him will th ink you a fool foryour deed .

”

And now Roland knew that death was nearat hand .

’

He raised himself and gathered al lhis strength together—ah me ! how pale hisface was —and took in h is hand his good swordDurendal. Before him was a great rock

,and

on this in his rage and pain he smote tenmighty blows . Loud rang the steel upon thestone ; but i t neither brake nor spl intered.

Help me , he cried, “ O Mary , our Lady. 0

my good sword, my Durendal, what an evil'

lotis mine ! I n the day when I must part withyou

,my power over you is lost. Many a battle

I have won with your help ; and many akingdom have I conquered, that my LordCharles possesses this day. Never has any

THE DEATH OF ROLAND 295

one possessed you that would fly beforeanother. So long as I l ive

,you shall not be

taken from me, so long have you been in thehands of a loyal knight.Then he smote a second time with the sword

,

this time upon the marble steps . Loud rangthe steel , but neither brake nor spl intered .

Then Roland began to bemoan himself,

“ O

my good Durendal,” he said , “ how bright and

clear thou art, shining as shines the sun ! WellI mind me of the day when a voice that seemedto come from heaven bade King Charles givethee to a val iant captain ; and forthwith thegood King girded it on my side. Many a landhave I conquered with thee for him , and nowhow great is my grief ! Can I die and leavethee to be handled by some heathen ? ” Andthe third time he smote a rock with it. Loudrang the stee l , but it brake not , bounding backas though it would rise to the sky. And whenCount Roland saw that he could not break thesword

,he spake again but with more content in

his heart . O Durendal,” he said, “ a fair

sword art thou , and holy as fair. There areholy rel ics in thy hilt, rel ics of St. Peter andSt . Denis and St . Basil . These heathen shallnever possess thee nor shalt thou be held butby a Christian hand .

”

290 THE DEATH OF ROLAND

And now Roland knew that death was verynear to him . He laid himself down with hishead upon the grass, putting under him hishorn and his sword, with his face turned towardsthe heathen foe. Ask you why he did so ? Toshew, forsooth , to Charlemagne and the men ofFrance, that he died in the midst of victory .

This done he made a loud confess ion of hiss ins, stretching his hand to heaven .

“ Forgiveme

,Lord,

” he cried ,“ my sins, l i ttle and great,

all that I have committed since the day of mybirth to this hour in which I am stricken todeath So he prayed ; and, as he lay, hethought of many things, of the countries whichhe had conquered, and of his dear FatherlandFrance , and of his kinsfolk, and of the goodKing Charles . Nor, as he thought, could hekeep himself from sighs and tears ; yet onething he remembered beyond all others— to prayfor forgiveness of his sins . “ O Lord , he said,“ who art the God of truth , and didst saveDaniel Thy prophet from the l ions, do Thousave my soul and defend it against all perilsSo speaking he raised his right hand, with thegauntlet yet upon it, to the sky, and his headfell back upon his arm and the angels carriedhim to heaven . So died the great CountRoland .

298 HOW CHARLEMAGNE SOUGHT VENGEANCE

What ! answered the King, are theyalready so far ? Then must we make has te,for they have robbed me of the very flower ofFrance .

” Then he turned to his nobles,and

called four by name, and said to them ,

“ Guardthis field, these valleys and these hills . Letthe dead l ie as they are, but take good carethat no beast of the field touch them , nor anyfollower of the camp. Make sure that no onelay a hand upon them till I come back . Andthe four answered, So will we do, Sire ; andthe King left with them a thousand horsemenfor a guard .

This done , he made haste to pursue the armyof the heathen . The day was drawing tosunset, but yet he overtook the enemy beforedarkness fel l . Some say that God wrought agreat miracle for the King, staying the sun inthe heaven , t ill he should have avenged him ofhis enemies . Be that as it may, this is certain ,that he overtook the Saracens and slew themwith a great slaughter. Many fel l by thesword, and they who escaped the sword threwthemselves into the river, the river Ebro, andthus perished by drowning. And the men ofFrance cried

,mocking them ,

“ You have seenRoland ; but i t has not turned to your good.

”

And now the night came on , and the K ing

HOW CHARLEMAGNE SOUGHT VENGEANCE 299

sa id, “We must think of our camp ; t is overlate to return to Roncesvalles .” I t is well ,

”

answered his nobles . So they unsaddled theirhorses, and laid themselves down on the greengrass and slept. None kept watch that night.As for the King, he lay down to rest in a certainmeadow, his spear by his pillow, for he wouldnot be far

'

from his arms. His good swordJ oyous was on his side. I t was a marvellousweapon , for i t had in its hilt the iron of thespear with which the side of the Lord Christwas pierced as He hung upon the cross . Fora time the King thought with tears about thegood knights whom he had lost, Roland hisnephew, and many another who had fallen onhis field . But at last his weariness overcamehim , and he slept. And as he slept he dreamedtwo dreams . I n the first dream he saw howthere gathered a great tempest in the heavens

,

with thunders and lightnings and hail and wind,and how this fell upon his army, and how thelances caught fire, and how the shields glowedwith heat

,and the corslets rattled with the

stroke of the hail . After this he saw how amultitude of wild beasts, bears , and leopards,and snakes

,and monsters such as griffins rushed

upon the host as to devour them . And heheard the men cry, Help us, King Charles, help


us ! But when he would have gone to helpthem a great l ion out of the forest flew on him .

Then he and the great beast wrestled together.But who prevailed, he knew not. He did notwake from his sleep, but his dream was changed .

And the second dream that he dreamed wasthis : He thought he was at his palace atAachen , and that he sat upon steps , holding abear that was bound with a double chain . Andin his dream he saw how that there came out ofthe forest of Ardennes thirty other bears whoSpake each with the vo ice of a man.

“ Givehim back to us, S ire,

” they said .

“ I t is notright that you should keep him so long. He isour kinsman , and we must help him .

” And thenthis was his dream—a fair greyhound came

and attacked the greates t of these wild beasts .But who was the conqueror in this confl ict also,he could not see . After this King Charlesawoke from his sleep .

Meanwhile K ing Marsilas came in his fl ightto Saragossa . He gave his sword and h isarmour to his servants, and laid himself downin sore distress upon the green grass under anol ive-tree. He had lost h is right hand, andwas faint with the bleeding . Loudly did hisQueen Branimonde lament over him . As forhis servants they cursed King Charles and the


The Emir sat upon it, and his chiefs stoodround about

“ Listen ! ” said the Emir, “ This Charleshas troubled the land of Spain too long. I

will attack him in his own country, even inFrance . Nothing shall h inder me from bringing him to my feet or slaying him .

” And as hespake he struck his knee w ith the gauntlet ofhis right hand . Then he called to him twoof his chiefs and said, “ Go now to KingMarsilas and say to him : I come to help youagainst the men of France. Come and payme homage, and I will make war upon KingCharles, even in his own land of France. Verilyi f he do not fall at my feet and beg for pardon ,and renounce the faith of Christ, I wil l tear hiscrown from his head. Take him also , for atoken

,this gauntlet and this staff of gold.

”

And all his nobles cried, “ I t is well sa id .

’

So the two envoys went, carrying, one thegauntlet and the other the staff. When theyhad passed through the gates of Saragossa,they saw a great multitude of men lamenting.

The gods have dealt i ll with us ,” said they

“ our King is wounded to the death , and hisson is dead

,and Spain will be the prey of the

Christian dogs.” When they were come tothe palace they made their salutations, saying,

HOW CHARLEMAGNE SOUGHT VENGEANCE 303

‘ Now may Apollyon and Mahomet have KingMarsilas and Queen Branimonde in their keeping l

” Nay,” said the Queen ,

“ what follyis this ? Our gods have deserted us . Seewhat they suffered to befall the K ing myhusband .

” The envoy answered, “ A truceto such words ! The Emir our master badeus say, “ I wi l l del iver King Marsilas ; as forthis Charles, I will attack him in his own landof France . This gauntlet and this staff hesends for a proof of his words . ” QueenBranimonde made answer, “ You have noneed to go to France. Here in this land ofSpain you may meet King Charles, and of atruth you will find him a great warrior. ”

Then said the King, “ You see, my lords,tha t I am in evil case . I have none to comeafter me , neither son nor daughter. A sonI had but yesterday, but the Count Rolandslew him . Say to your master for me

,I yield

you this land of Spain ; only guard it againstthe Christians ! And b id him come to me ;I will give him useful counsel about K ingCharles ; and take him the keys of this cityof Saragossa. As for Charles he is encampedby the river Ebro, seven leagues hence . Therewill the Emir find him, for of a truth the menof France w i l l not refuse the battle . ”

304 HOW CHARLEMAGNE SOUEHT VENGEANCE

Then the envoys returned to the Emir,and

told him all that happened—how King Charleshad left Roland and the Peers to guard thepasses , and how they had been slain , and whatgreat loss King Marsilas had suffered, and howhe yielded to him the whole land of Spain

,and

how King Charles and his men were in campby the Ebro . Then the Emir commanded hismen that they should make ready for themarch . Make haste, he said, “ or theseFrenchmen will escape us.Meanwhile K ing Charles had made search

for the body of his nephew, the Count Roland,and for the others that had fallen with him .

And when these had been found, he causedthat the rest should be buried with greathonour

,but three of the bodies, Roland , to

wit,and Ol iver, and Turpin the Archbishop,

he commanded to be set as ide. The heartsof these three were taken out of their bodiesand wrapped in silk, and then enclosed incoffins of white marble . But the bodies werewrapped in deer-skins, with store of spices,and set each in a carriage , that they mightbe taken to the town of Blois .When these things had been done, there

came two envoys from the Emir, bearingthis message. “ The Emir brings against


that are of a good courage,said the Emir.

“ Sound the trumpets , that my people maymake themselves ready. A mighty warriorwas he, with deep chest and broad shoulders,over which his hair fel l in curls

,with fair face

and shining eyes of his courage he had givenproofs without number. What a gallant knighthe had been, were he but a Christian man !He had a sword of renown , which he calledPrecious , and a great bear-spear, Matte byname . A gallant knight also was the PrinceMalprime , his son .

“ Forward, Sire, said thePrince to his father. “ Shall we see K ingCharles to-day Yes,

”

answered the Emir,“ for he is a brave man , and al l speak of himwith honour. Nevertheless , now that he haslost the Count Roland his nephew, he canscarcely hold his ground before us . Yet weshall have a great battle to fight. Be it so,

”

said , the Prince .

“ 1 ask from you the honourof striking the first blow. I t shall be yours,

”

said the Emir.Then the Emir set his battle in array, so

that the two hosts stood over against eachother. There was neither hill nor valley nor

forest between them ; each was in full s ight ofthe other. Splendid and terrible they were toview

,so brightly shone the helmets and bucklers

HOW CHARLEMAGNE SOUGHTVENGEANCE 307

and shields and spears . And bright and clearwas the sound of the trumpets but the brightestand clearest of all was the horn of Charles thegreat King. And first the Emir rode forth infront of his army.

“ Follow me ! ” he cried tohis army, I will show you the way. And hebrandished his spear, turning the point towardsthe King of France. And King Charles

,on

his part, when he saw the Emir, and hisstandard , the Dragon, borne after him ,

criedwith a loud voice, Lords of France

,you have

fought many battles , and now there is yet onemore for you to fight . See, then , th is host ofheathens . Many they are in number. Butwhat matters the multitude of them ? Followme ! ” Thereupon he spurred his charger. Thegood steed bounded forward, and all the menof France cried out, “ A brave man is ourK ing ; not one of us will fail him .

” The firstthat dealt a blow to the enemy was the CountRabel . Spurring his horse, he charged Torlen,the King of Persia

,and struck his shie ld fairly

with his spear. The good steel pierced shieldand corslet

,and the King fell dead upon the

field .

“ Strike ! strike for Charles and theRight ! ” cried all the men of France whenthey saw the Pers ian fall .

On the other s ide the Prince Malprime , son


to the Emir, rode forward on his white horse,charging into the midst of the army of France,and striking down warrior after warr ior.“ See ! cried the Emir, “ see my son , howhe is seeking for the King of the French !There is no better soldier than he. Followhim and the victory shall be yours, and all theprizes of victory, lands , and castles, and goldand fair women.

” Nor did the chiefs of thehea then delay to charge . Fiercely did theyride forward, and the battle raged over theplain . When the Duke Naymes saw how thePrince Malprime was breaking the ranks ofFrance, deal ing death at every blow, hecharged him, spear in rest. He drave thepoint through the upper rim of his shield andthrough h is corslet, deep into his s ide, andlaid him dead on the field . But when KingCanaben, who was uncle to the Prince, sawwhat had befal len his nephew, he rode at theDuke , and, drawing his sword, deal t h im agreat blow on the helmet. Half of the helmetand laces wherewi th it was laced were shornoff by the stroke, and the edge of the swordtouched the flesh itself. The Duke yet clungwith one arm to the neck of h is horse ; i f theheathen deal h im another such blow he is los t.But

,thanks to God, King Charles came to


and blew a call , loud and clear. The Turksand the Arabs and the Giants answered thereto. Mighty warriors they were , and fiercewas the charge they made ; so fierce that theybrake the army of France in twain . But whenOgier the Dane saw what had befallen theK ing ’s army he said to him , See you how theheathen are breaking our ranks and slaying ourmen . I f you would bear your crown where itshould be borne you must strike with all yourmight.Then the King rode forward , and with him

the Duke Naymes, and Ogier the Dane, andGeoffrey Count of Anjou . All quitted themselves as good knights, but there was none whobore himself so bravely as Ogier the Dane.Many he slew , among them the heathen knightwho carried the Emir ’s standard . Sore discouraged was the Emir when he saw hisstandard in the dust, but the heart of KingCharles was high with hope. “ Sons ofFrance

,will you help me ? ” he cried .

“ ’Tisa wrong even to ask us,

” said they ; cursedbe he who shall not strike with his wholeheart ! ” And now, as the day drew to theevening

,these two met in combat, King

Charles and the Emir. Fierce was theencounter between them , and many and sore

HOW CHARLEMAGNE SOUGHT VENGEANCE 3 1 1

were the blows they dealt the one to theother. At last i t chanced that the bands ofeach man ’s saddle was cleft through

,so that

they fell both to the ground. Quickly didthey rise to their feet, and drawing theirswords

,closed fiercely in fight. I t was

,indeed

,

a battle to the death . First the Emir spoke,

saying, “ King Charles, you have slain myson ; you have wrongfully invaded my land .

Yet if you will pay me homage I will grant itto you to hold in fief. “ That were a fouldisgrace,

” King Charles made answer ; neverwill I grant to a heathen either peace or l ife .

Become a Christian , and you shall have all thatI have to give .” These are but idle words,

”

answered the Emir ; I had sooner die .

” Andas he spake he dealt King Charles a mightyblow upon the helmet . The sword brake theiron

,and shore away a palm ’s breadth of the

scalp. The King reeled in his place, and hadwell-nigh fallen

’

to the ground . But God willedotherwise

,for the angel that guarded him

whispered in his ear, “ Charles,what doest

’

thou ? And when he heard the angel ’s voicehe thought no more of danger or death.

Gathering all h is strength into one mightyblow

,he severed the enemy ’s head in twain .

Down to the chin he cleft it, and the Emirfell dead upon the plain .

3 12 HOW CHARLEMAGNE SOUGHT VENGEANCE

So soon as the heathen saw that their leaderwas slain they fled in hot haste , and the menof France pursued them even to the walls ofSaragossa. There stood Queen Branimonde ,

with her priests about her, waiting and watching for news of the war. But when the Queensaw the multitude of them that fled she hastenedto King Marsilas, and sa id to him ,

“ O S ire, ourpeople are vanquished, and the Emir is dead .

”

When K ing Marsilas heard these words heturned him to the wall , and covered his faceand wept. So great was his grief that hisheart was broken in his breast, and he died .

As for the town, none of the heathen hadany thought of defending it. They sufferedthe gates to be broken down without anyhindrance, and the Qu een surrendered toKing Charles al l the towers , great and small .Of a truth, he works well who works withGod .

As soon as it was day K ing Charle s badehis men break down all the things that theheathen counted holy. As for the people,they were brought to the water of baptism .

Such as were not wil l ing to be baptized intothe faith

,these the K ing caused to be hanged ,

or slain with the sword, or burnt with the fire.But the greater part readily obeyed the King

’s

3 14 HOW CHARLEMAGNE SOUGHT VENGEANCE

King saw this he called to him four countessesand bade them carry her to a nunnery thatwas hard by. All that night these nobleladies watched by her dead body ; the dayfollowing she was buried by the altar withgreat honour.

CHAPTER XXXV

OF THE PUN ISHMENT OF GANELON

HE King sent messengers to all parts ofhis dominions , bidding all the judges

learned in the law come to him at his palace atAachen . So the judges came as he commanded

,

and were gathered together on the Feast of St .S ilvester, which was the last day of December.When they were all assembled he bade theserj eants fetch Ganelon out of his prison

,and

bring him before the judges . When they haddone this, the K ing said, “ My Lords, I wouldhave you judge this man Ganelon . He camewith me when I went with my army to the landof Spain ; he has robbed me of twenty thousand men of France ; he has robbed me ofRoland my nephew, whom we shall see nomore , and of Ol iver the courteous knight, andof the Twelve Peers of France—and all this hehas done for the sake of moneyI t is true, said Ganelon may a curse fall

35

316 OF THE PUNISHMENT OF GANELON

on me if I deny it . But l isten ; Roland didme wrong in the matter of gold and s i lver.Therefore I sought to revenge myself uponhim ; and I compassed his death . That Iconfess : but I deny that I wrought anytreason So Ganelon spake, as he stoodbefore the K ing. He was of a fair presence

,

and had been a noble knight i f only he hadbeen true of heart .

Ganelon spake again, saying, “ I beseechyou

,my lords, to hear my defence. When I

was in the K ing’

s army I served him loyallyand wel l . But my nephew Roland cherishedin his heart a great hatred of me, and wouldhave done me to death . Did he not bring itabout that I was sent on an embassy to K ingMarsilas ? I f I escaped, i t was of my own con

triving . Thereupon I bade defiance to Rolandand to Ol iver and to all h is company, as theKing and all here present will bear witness .This was revenge

,I confess, but I affirm it

was not treason.

”

Now there had come to the support ofGanelon thirty men of his kindred, of whomthe chief was a certain P inabel. A greatorator was this Pinabel, when there was needof pleading a cause

,and a good soldier also,

when there was need of arms. To him said

3 18 OF THE PUNISHMENT OF GANELON

You are nothing but traitors,all of you ! ” cried

the King in great anger. But when he sawhow the barons favoured these words

,he was

greatly troubled . Thereupon Thierry,that

was brother to Geoffrey of Anjou, stood beforehim , and said, Trouble not yourself, my goodIord . Beyond all doubt, this Ganelon is atraitor . Though Roland may have done himwrong, for your sake he should have sufferedhim to go unscathed . Therefore I pronouncesentence of death upon him , that he be hangedby the heels til l he die, and that they throw hiscarcase to the dogs . This is the j ust punishment of traitors . And if any kinsman of hissay me nay, then will I give him the l ie withthe edge of the sword . So spake the CountThierry

,and all the men of France cried with

one voice,I t is well said .

”

P inabel, when he heard these words, camenear to the King.

“ S ire, said he,“ bid them

cease from this clamour. The Count Thierryhas given his judgment ; I , for my part, saythat he has l ied . Let us put the matter to thetrial of the sword . So be it,

” answered theK ing ;

“ but I must have hostages .” Thereupon thirty kinsmen of the Count offered themselves. And the King, On his part offered

hostages also.

OF THE PUNISHMENT OF GANELON 3 19

First the two champions made confessionand received absolution . Also they gave greatalms to the poor. After this they armed themselves for the battle . There is a great plainnear to the city of Aachen ; on this the twochampions met to do battle, the one for thegood name of Roland and his comrades

,the

other for Ganelon . First they charged withtheir spears in rest. So equally matched werethey that neither gained any advantage in theencounter. The spurs of both were broken ;the corslets of both were broken through, andthe belts of the horses were so torn that thesaddles turned in their place . So the twochampions were unhorsed . Quickly did theyleap to their feet, and fall to with their swords .Mighty blows did they both deal , and the menof France were in great fear. Then P inabelcried aloud , “ Take back your words , CountThierry

,I will be your friend and comrade ,

and divide my wealth with you, i f only you willmake Ganelon friends with the King.

” “ Farbe it from me ! ” answered Thierry. Neverwill I do such a thing . God shall judgebetween us .” After a while he spake againP inabel, you are a true knight, strong, andof a noble presence, and all men know yourcourage. Have done with this battle. I will

320 OF THE PUNISHMENT OF GANELON

make peace between you and the K ing. Asfor Ganelon , let him have his deserts .

” Godforbid,

” answered Pinabel,“ that I should

desert my k insman . So the champions turnedagain to the duel . First P inabel struck amighty blow, and wounded Thierry on theright cheek , coming near to slay h im outright.But God preserved him, for was he notchamp ion of the right ! Then Thierry , in histurn , smote his adversary . On the helmet fel lthe blow, cleaving it in twain , and the skul lbeneath , so that the man

’s brain was scatteredon the earth .

Then came the punishment. The K ingasked, What shall we do with those thatpledged themselves for the traitor ’s innocenceLet them be hanged, answered the nobles .And this was done. As for Ganelon, theylashed his l imbs to four horses , so that he wastorn into four pieces . This was the end of thetraitor.

322 HOW KING CHARLES

oath to you . I f you will give me somesoldiers I wil l bring them prisoners hither

,

and your son Charlot shall have their land .

This shall be his trial before he have thekingdom of France .

”

But the Duke Naymes, being both wise andtrue of heart, said to the K ing, “ This is nogood counsel of Amaury . The Princes areyoung, and, maybe, they have not failed intheir duty to you of set purpose, but ratherunknowingly . Send therefore messengers toBordeaux and bid them come to your Court.I f they obey, well ; but if not, then you shalldeal with them by Amaury

’

s counsel .So the King sent messengers to Bordeaux,

and the Princes received them with greathonour . And when they had del ivered theirmessage, the Duchess said “ I , thank theK ing ; my sons will certainly come to dohim homage when I shall have made themready for their journey . So the messengerswent back to the King and told him thesewords

,and he was very glad, and said, “ A

good tree put s forth good fruit ; Duke S evynof Bordeaux was a good man , and his sonsare good men also . But as for this mischiefmaker Amaury, I banish him from the landof France .”

SENT HUON ON AN ERRAND 323

Then went Amaury to Prince Charlot andsaid : “ I had thought to win for you theDuchy of Bordeaux. But the Duke Naymeshas thwarted me . Nevertheless, the landsmay yet be yours i f only we can be rid of thePrinces Huon and Gerard . Let us fall onthem when they ride this way.

”

These two, then, lay in wait in a woodby which they knew the ; two should pass.Now Amaury

’

s purpose was double, eitherthat Huon and his brother should be slain

,

or if they should slay Charlot, then theyshould be accused to the King of this deedand suffer accordingly. So now he said toCharlot, “Yonder are Huon and Gerard ; rideout against them , for they are but weakl ings .To his men he said, “ Let the Prince go alone ;he needs not your help .

”

So Charlot rode forth and held the way bywhich the two brothers must pass . ThenHuon said to his brother, “ Go now and seewhat this knight demands ; i f he ask for toll,being master of the way, we will pay it .

” SoGerard rode forward . Prince Charlot said tohim

,

“Who are you ? Gerard answered,We are sons of S evyn that was Duke ofBordeaux

,on whom God have mercy.

”

Then,

” said the Prince, “ you are sons of


a vil lain . S evyn took from me three castles,and I could never have justice of him. Now

,

therefore, you shall suffer for this wrong.

”

S i r,” answered Gerard, “ you see that I

am without arms . I t were a foul shameif you should slay me. But i f you have suffered wrong we w i ll make you amends .” “ I

will have no amends,” cried the Prince

,

“ butvengeance .” And when Gerard turned toflee, being unarmed , and fearing for his l i fe,he rode at h im and smote him with his spear,so that he fel l to the ground as one dead.

When Huon saw th is deed he was greatlytroubled, th inking that his brother was slain.

Spurring his horse, he rode with al l haste, andovertook the Prince ere ever he came to thewood . He cried, “Who are you that haveslain my brother without any cause ? ” Charlotanswered, “ I am son of Duke Thierry,

” forhe would not be known also he had disguisedhis sh ield, “ and this I have done because yourfather took from me three castles, and I couldnever have justice of him .

” Huon said, “ Youare a false knight and a murderer, and I defyyou .

” Then he wrapped his scarlet cloakabout his arm and drew his sword , for otherarms or armour he had none, and rode againstthe Prince . The Prince, on his part, spurred


Huon, when he was come to Paris, wentin and stood before the K ing, and told himwhat things had befallen him . First he said,“ S ire, see th is my brother, how he has beenwounded .

” And as he spoke he pulled as ideGerard ’s doublet and his shirt, and showed thewound beneath . And the lad fell in a swoonbefore the K ing and his lords, so great was thepain that he suffered . The King had a greatpity for the wounded man , and bade fetch hisown surgeon that he might dress the wound .

He said also, “ I f I find out the man that hasdone th is deed, I wil l deal with h im in suchfashion as shall never be forgotten .

”

After this Huon told the story how he hadbeen assailed, and how he had slain his adversary. When the K ing heard i t he said, Nowwere this false knight my own son Charlot,whom I love with all my heart

,I should not

deny that he had met with his deserts . ”

While the K ing was yet speaking there washeard a great outcry in the street, for the bodyof the Prince was being carried through thetown and the people lamented over it. TheKing said to the Duke Naymes,

“ Go now

and see what this outcry may mean . So theDuke went, but when he came to the greatgate of the palace there was the body of Prince


Charlot lying on a shield and borne by fourknights .When the body was brought in and laid

down before the King he said in a loud voice,

Tell me now who has done this deed andfor what cause .

” Amaury answered,

“ Theman who did this deed sits yonder. He isnone other than Huon of Bordeaux .

” Whenthe King heard these words he would havefallen on Huon and slain him , only the DukeNaymes and others of his Barons held himback .

Then said Huon to the King, “ Bel ieve me,

S ire, that I knew not this knight to be yourson ; verily, had I known it I should not havecome to make my complaint to you as I havedone this day . Rather should I have fledaway and hidden myself as best I could .

Then said the Duke Naymes to the King,Let now Amaury stand forth and tell us whyhe lay in ambush in the wood with your son ,and what purpose he had in his mind .

”

And Amaury stood forth and told this taleSir

,your son sent a message to me, desiring

that I should go a-hawking with him . So Iwent with him

,only we went armed, for

I feared the men of Ardennes lest they

should fall upon us . I t chanced that we


came to a l ittle wood, and there we cast ourhawks , and one of the hawks was lost. Whilewe sought for it there came by Huon and hisbrother, and Huon had the hawk on his fist .Then your son full courteously required hisown again , and Huon for answer drew hissword and slew your son , which when hehad done he rode away so fast that we couldnot overtake h im ; and now I challenge himto say that he knew not the knight thatdemanded the hawk to be your son .

Then said Huon ,“ I will prove that th is

Amaury is a false l iar, and wil l make himconfess that I knew not the knight whom Islew to be the King

’

s son . And for my suretyI give my brother Gerard, than whom there isnone nearer of kin to me . Amaury on hispart gave as surety two nephews that he had .

The King said to the Duke Naymes,“ Let

them prepare a field where these two shallfight

,and till i t be prepared shut them up

in a tower, and let a hundred knightsbe ready to keep the field when it is prepared . For I will not suffer my son to beburied till the vanquished man be hanged

,

i f he have not been already slain in thefield .

”

When all was ready, the two champions took


would strike him on the helmet ; but whenAmaury raised his sword to guard the blow,

then Huon turned suddenly his stroke , andsmote the man under his guard so that helopped off his left arm . When Amaury sawthat he was so disabled , he bethought him of abase device . He said to Huon , “ I do confessthat I spoke falsely and that you knew not thatthe knight was Charlot. Therefore I yield meto your grace. Come , therefore, and receivemy sword, which I will ingly yield to you .

”

But when Huon came near to take the sword,Amaury smote him on the arm, thinking to dohim the same damage that he had himselfendured. This s troke he missed, yet made agreat wound, so that the blood flowed down .

Then said Huon,

“ Take this, false traitor !”

and he slew the man with one stroke,but for

repentance or confess ion there was no space oftime .

Then said the K ing, “ Did the vanquishedman confess ? And when he h eard that noconfession had been made he said to Huon ,“ I banish you for ever from this realm .

Never shall you hold one foot of land in Bordeaux or Aquitaine .” Nor would he abate onejot from this sentence, for al l that Huonbegged him to have mercy, and the Duke .


Naymes with the other Barons were urgentwith him that he should not do this greatinjustice . Nevertheless at the last when hesaw that he was left alone, for the Duke withhis fellows had departed from the palace

,he

was constrained to relent somewhat from hispurpose. So he cal led the Barons, saying,Come back to me, for I must perforce yieldto your des ire .

” To Huon he said, for theyoung man knelt before him with muchhumbleness, “Will you do that thing which Icommand ? ” And Huon answered, “ S ire

,

there is nothing in the whole world that Iwould not do at your bidding, if I mightthereby be restored to your grace . Verily Iwould go to the gates of hell, as did Hercules,i f you should send me th ither .” The Kinganswered, Maybe, Huon, I shall send youto a worse place than that to which wentH ercules , for of fifteen messengers that havealready gone thither there has not come backto me a single one . Hear then what I shallsay : you shall go to the city of Babylon andenter the palace of Gaudys that is Admiral ofthe city when he sits at his dinner And youshall defy him

,and shall take the sceptre from

his hand. This sceptre shall you render intomy hands. After this I will take you again

332 HUON SENT ON AN’

ERRAND

into favour, and will give back to you yourlands.” The Barons said, “ S ir, you mustgreatly desire the death of him whom yousend on such an errand. The King answered ,“ Let him never come back to France excepthe bring the Admiral ’s sceptre with him .

”

Nor would he grant him any further grace,save that ten knights should go with him . SoHuon made ready to go .

334 HOW HUON MET WITH KING OBERON

so, answered Garyn , “ I w i l l not leave youtill you shal l return yourself to your ownlandf

’

From J erusalem they passed through thedesert suffering much from heat and thirst . On

their way they saw a hut, i n the door of whichsat an old man with a long white beard

,who

,

when Huon saluted him in the name of God,

first began to weep, and then caught Huon’s

hand, and k issed i t many times.’Tis thirty

years ,” he said, s ince I have seen the face of

a Christian man. And now looking upon youI remember me of a noble peer whom I knewlong s ince in the land of France, Duke S evynof Bordeaux. But now I pray you restawhile. ”

So Huon and Garyn tied their horses totrees

,and sat down and talked with the old

man . And when Huon had told his story,then the old man related how he had been senton pilgrimage to J erusalem, because he hadslain a knight in a tourney, and how on hisway home he had been taken prisoner bySaracens and carried to Babylon, from whichplace he had escaped after two years . But,said he

,I have not been able to return home,

but have dwelt in this place ever since.”

Huon said, “ I t is to Babylon that I go .

HOW HUON MET WITH KING OBERON 335

Tell me now what road I should follow . Theold man answered, “ There are two roads toBabylon, one of forty days

’ journey and one offifteen only . But the shorter road is beset bya certa in Oberon, King of the Fairies. ThisOberon is very pleasant to look upon, and hisvoice very sweet, but be sure that you do notspeak to him, for he that speaks to him is lostfor ever. Yet, if you will not speak to him, hewill hinder your journey by his magic. Icounsel you , therefore, that you take not theshorter way.

This counsel did not please Huon, who said,I f I can gain so much time by only keepingmy tongue from speech , I wil l surely do so.“ I f this be your will ,

” answered the old man,whose name , i t should be said, was Gerames,I will go with you .

”

The next day they set forth . At noon theyrested awhile under an oak , and as they rested,Oberon came by, very richly clad in a garmentgarnished with precious stones, and holding inhis hand a very precious bow. A horn alsohung to his neck by two chains of gold .

There never was such a horn in this world.

One note of it could cure all kinds of sicknessanother could satisfy hunger and thirst, yet

another could lighten all heaviness of heart,


and a fourth could draw any one that heard i teven against his wil l .

As Oberon rode by, he blew a note uponhis horn, and when he heard it, Huon forgotall the hunger and thirst that he had. AndOberon cried , I pray you speak to me . ” ButHuon, mindful of the counsel of Gerames,

answered not a word, but rode away . ThenOberon in his anger blew again on his horn,and straightway there arose a great storm

, sothat they could scarcely win their way againsti t ; after the storm there appeared a great riverin their way, very black and deep, and rushingw i th a terrible noise also on the other s ide ofthe river there appeared a very fair castle

,

which when they had looked on it awhilevanished out of their s ight.Gerames said, “ Ride on now, taking no

account of these things . ” And this they did .

When they had ridden some five leagues, andhad seen nothing more, Huon said, We arewell escaped from this Oberon .

”

Gerames

answered,Not so ; we shall see him again .

”

And while he spake, they saw Oberon on theother side of a bridge by which they must pass .Huon said

,

“ See,there is the devil who makes

all this trouble . ” Oberon heard these words,and cried

,

“ Sir,you do me wrong ; I am no

HOW HUON MET I/VITH KING OBERON 337

devil , nor of an ill nature, and I entreat youthat you speak with me. ” But Huon answeredhim not a word .

After certain days, Oberon appeared againand said, “ I conjure you by the name of Godthat you speak to me. I know who you are

,

and why you are come hither —and he toldhim all that had befallen him , the slaying ofCharlot and the anger of the King—“ and besure that you cannot accompl ish the thing forwhich you are come, save by my help.

“ Sir,

”

answered Huon , “ you are welcome . AndOberon said, “ You will w in for yourself a greatreward by those words .He had scarcely said these words when there

rose »up before them a very fair palace, and inthe palace there was a hall , and in the hal l atable of gold, set with cups and plates anddishes and all manner of meats thereon. Atthis they sat down , and feasted joyously. AndOberon told Huon how he came to be as hewas, for he was but as a child to look upon .

“When I was christened,” said he, “ my father

gave a royal feast to all the people, and cal ledthe fairies also. But one fairy was not called

,

and she,being greatly angered, said, This

child shall not grow one whit after his third1year. But afterwards repenting sa id, ‘Though

23


th is be so, yet there shall not be a fairer childthan And when they were satisfied,Huon said, Have we your leave to depart ?Oberon answered, “ You shall go when youwish, but first I would show you something.

”

And he said to a knight, “ Go, fetch me myHcup. So the knight brought him a cup. This

Oberon took in his hands, and made over i t thesign of the cross, and straightway the cup wasfi ll ed to the brim with wine. “ See,

” said he,th is cup. I f a man be in deadly sin

,there

shal l be never a drop of wine in the cup whenhe holds it but if he be out of s in , then it shallfi l l for him . Take it now and make a tr ial ofit. ” Huon answered, “ I count not myself tobe worthy of such a th ing yet thus much willI say, that I do repent me of all that I havedone amiss, and that I forgive all men whatthey may have done amiss to me . Then hetook the cup in his hands, and straightway itwas full of wine. Then Oberon said, “ Takethis cup, for you are worthy of it, and this hornalso. But beware that you use i t not except ofnecessity. And when he had looked uponHuon awhile, he said, Huon , I love you well,but I foresee that you will suffer many thingsby reason of your folly. And he sufferedhim and his companions to depart.

340 THE END OF THE FALSE DUKE MACAIRE

said, “ The day is far spent,and we are weary .

Nor does a wise traveller leave a good town .

”

Then said the stranger, “ I f you are purposedto do this th ing, I wil l take you to a lodging,where you shall be safe . So the man tookHuon and his companions to the house of theProvost of the city.

Huon greeted the Provost, as he had greetedthe man at the gate, and the Provost answeredhim in the same fashion : “ Speak softly,

” hesaid , “ for if the Duke should hear of this, youwould be lost. Nevertheless you are rightwelcome to my house. ” Then he bade Huonand his companions enter, and when they hadrefreshed themselves, they supped with greatplenty. Supper being ended, Huon said toGerames,

“ Cause now that proclamation bemade that any man in the c ity that w il l maycome and sup free of al l cost . And go youinto the city, and buy bread and meat and

other things needful , and I , with my cup, willgive them drink .

” And so it was done, andthere was never a beggar or vagabond in thewhole city but came to the supper. And Huonministered to them wine from the cup .

Now it should be told that the Duke of» thecity of Tormont was by name Macaire, and

was uncle to Huon. But he had forsworn his

THE END OF THE FALSE DUKE MACAIRE 341

Christian faith , and was full of hatred againstall Christian men. About this time he chancedto send his steward into the city to buy provis ions . But when the steward found thateverything had been sold, he came again tohis master, and said, I can get nothing in thetown for your supper. There is a young manlodged in the Provost ’s house that has boughtall the victuals that were in the city, and hasfeasted therewith all the rogues and vagabondsin it .” When the Duke heard this he said

,I

wil l go and see th is fellow.

” And he bade hisknights arm themselves, and come with him .

As he went there came one that had been atthe supper, who said,

“ There is a young manthat has a most wonderful cup . I f all thepeople from the east to the west shoulddrink thereof, i t would not fail .

” Then the

Duke said to himself, “ I will have that cup .

”

So he and his men went to the Provost ’shouse .When the Provost saw the Duke coming

,he

said to Huon , “Here comes the Duke ; I knownot how you will fare. ” “ Trouble not yourself

,answered Huon ; and when the Duke

came into the house, he said to him in a cheerful voice, “ S ir, you are welcome.

” “Whatmean you by this tumult ? Why did you bid


all these rogues to supper ? S ir,

” answeredHuon,

“ I am bound on a journey to the RedSea ; these poor folk I have thus entertainedthat they may pray for me that I may comeback safely .

” This is fool ishness,” said the

Duke ;“ what will the ir prayers profit you if

you lose your head ? ” S ir,” answered Huon,

be content. S it down now'

with your knights,

and sup with us ; i f I have done aught amiss Iwill make due amends .So the Duke and his knights sat down,

seeming to be content . And when they hadsupped

,Huon serving them al l the time full

courteously, he took the cup and showed it tothe Duke, saying, “ I s not this cup empty ? ”

“ ’Tis so,

” said the Duke , “ I see nothingtherein.

” Then Huon made the sign of thecross over the cup, and straightway it was ful lof wine. But when he gave it to the Duke

,

10 ! in a moment i t was empty Said theDuke

,

“What magic is this ? “ ’Tis nomagic, answered Huon . Because you arein sin

,therefore the cup became empty in your

handsThe Duke was not a l ittle wroth neverthe

l ess he dissembled his anger, and said, “ Tellme now your name and your kindred , and ofwhat country you are .

” And when he heard


Now there were in the castle some s ix scoreprisoners out of the land of France who hadbeen taken captive on the seas . Geoffrey,having charge of these prisoners

,for he was in

high authority under the Duke, went to thedungeons where they lay, and said to them ,

Sirs, i f you would save your l ives , follow me .”

This they were wel l content to do. So hetook them to the chamber where the armswere kept

,and armed them all . Having done

this he said,S i rs , now it is t ime to show your

courage, i f you would have freedom instead of

bondage . ” And he told them how the Dukehad sent for pagan men to slay his nephew.

But you,” he said, “ when the time comes

,

will not slay but succour him .

So the prisoners, being clad in armour, andhaving swords by their s ides , followed Geoffreyto the hall where the Duke and Huon sat atdinner ; and when they had entered the hall,Huon said to his uncle, “Are these the Baronswho shall conduct me on my journey ? ” for hewas very des irous to depart. The Duke

,

thinking that Geoffrey had fulfilled his commandment

,said

,

“ Not so, my nephew ; theseare soldiers whom I have sent for that theymay slay you .

”

When Huon heard this he stood upon his

THE END OF THE FALSE DUKE MACAIRE 345

feet,and put his helmet on his head and pre

pared to fight for his l ife. Geoffrey, on hispart

,said to the prisoners, “ Show yourselves

men,fair s irs, and suffer not a single pagan to

escape ! ” And the prisoners fell on the companythat was gathered at dinner with the Duke, andslew them .

As for the Duke, when he saw how he hadbeen deceived , he fled by a secret way that heknew

,and, leaping from a window, so escaped .

But Geoffrey and the Frenchmen shut to thegates, and drew up the drawbridge, thinking todefend themselves in the castle, for they knewthat the Duke would not be content til l he hadrecovered it.I n no long time the Duke , having gathered

together a great company of men, laid siege tothe castle. He had engines of war with him

,

and ladders wherewith his men might cl imb onto the wal ls and make a breach with pikes andmattocks . And this the pagans did, and forall the valour of Huon and Geoffrey and theprisoners the castle was very l ike to be taken .

Gerames said to Huon, NOW, sir, i t is timefor you to blow your horn, for unless therecome to us some help we shall scarce see

another day.

” Huon answered, “ I wouldwill ingly do so, but my horn I have not, for Ileft i t with the Provost.


Meanwhile the Provost had come to theDuke, and said to him ,

“ S ir, th is is but illcounsel that you are pull ing down your owncastl e. Make peace with your nephew on thiscondition , that he and his company straightwaydepart from out of your city. Let me go

,

therefore, and persuade him . You shallgo

,

” answered the Duke .So; the Provost, coming to the castle gate,

said that he greatly desired to see Huon,who

coming, desired to know who he was . Whenhe heard that he was the Provost, he said tohim

,Now if you would serve me, give me the

horn which I left in your keep ing.

“ That iseas ily done , answered the Provost, and hedrew i t from his bosom and gave i t toHuon .

Gerames, though he had counselled theblowing of the horn, when he saw Huon nowready to do so, repented, for he mistrustedKing Oberon , and would gladly have donewithout his help . He said, therefore, to Huon,“ Sir

,I doubt whether you are even now in

such a strait that you should blow the horn.

Haply King Oberon would not des i re that itshould be done.

“What mean you ? ” answered Huon .

Shall I tarry ti l l I am slain before I ask for


you should even break the horn in the blowingof it. ” “ S ir,

” said Huon, when he heard thesewords,

“ you wi l l do your pleasure, as I will domine own.

”

But Oberon answered nothing.

So these two parted in anger.

CHAPTER XXXIX

HOW HUON , HAV ING SLAIN A GIANT, CAME TO

BABYLON

FTER these things i t was told Huonthat there was a certain tower not far

from the ci ty of Tormont, a very marvellousplace where there dwelt a giant

,Angolafer by

name. The gate of this tower, for so the storyran , was kept by two men of brass , each of

whom held in his hand an iron flail. Thesetwo bea t with their flails without” ceasing forone single moment, the one striking while theother ceased ; and this they did so quickly thatnot even a swal low could fly between themwithout taking harm . But if a man could byany means pass into the tower, and overcomethe giant, then he would find treasures withoutend.

When Huon heard of these things, hethought in himself, “ This Is an adventure

350 HOW HUON CAME TO BABYLON

after my own heart. So he made his wayto the tower. When he saw the men of brassstriking with their flails , he wondered muchhow he might win by them . After a whil ehe Spied a bason of gold

,t ied with a chain to

a marble pillar ; on this he struck three greatstrokes with h is sword

,for he said to himself

,

“ I f I may come to speech with some humancreature ’twere better than deal ing with thesemen of brass .” And so it fell out. There wasa certain damsel i n the tower, Sybil by name,whom the giant kept prisoner, and she, hearingthe sound, ran to a w indow and looked out.When she saw Huon, she said, “Who is this ?He is a fair knight. I judge him to be ofFrance, for I see on his shoulder three crosses,gules ;

’twere a pity that he should come toharm ; yet what could fifty knights do againstthis giant ? Yet if he is come for some goodend, I would fain help him.

”

Now there was a handle which, being turned ,stayed the beating ‘of the flails . The LadySybil thought within herself, Dare I do thisth ing ? Yet i t were better to die than to remaini n this bondage .

” Also She heard the breathing of the giant

,as of one in deep sleep .

Thereupon She turned the handle, and Huonentered the palace. But when he passed from


fear this villain . I f you are so minded,

answered Sybil , “ you wil l find him in thefourth chamber from this . ” When Huon wascome to the fourth chamber, he saw the giant,a most monstrous creature to behold

,asleep on

a bed, and cried aloud , Rise up,thou heathen

dog, or I will strike off thy head ! The giantanswered, “ Not a hundred such as you wouldprevail over me were I armed even now I fearyou not. ” Gird on your armour,

” said Huon ,I would not fight with a naked man. ” Thatis bravely and courteously said ,

” quoth the

giant. “ Tel l me your name and country.

”

Huon answered , “ I am a poor knight ofFrance

,whom Charlemagne has sent on an

errand to the Admiral of Babylon .

” “ Fromthat same Admiral,

” said the giant, “ I havetaken not one town only, but many . Thistower I took from Oberon , who is a greatPrince in th ese parts, and with it a suit ofarmour which no one may Wear save he bewithout guilt . Now, for your courtesy, youshall try it, if you wi ll .

”

Then Huon took the armour, and put i t onhim

,and lo l he bare i t eas i ly.

“ I see, saidthe giant

,that you are a worthy knight ; now

that you have proved the armour, del iver i tto me again.

” “ That wi ll not I,”answered

HOW HUON CAME TO BABYLON 353

Huon , not for twelve of the fairest citiesthat are between this place and Paris . ”

Friend, said th e giant again , “ i f you will butdeliver to me the armour, I will let you departhence without harm ; als o I will give you aring of gold which I had of this same Admiralof Babylon . Whoso has this ring can passwhere he will .

“ I owe you no thanks for the gift, saidHuon, for the ring I can take at my pleasure,when you shall have been slain .

” Thereat thegiant, in great wrath , made at him with afalchion that he carried in his hand , butmissing his stroke, he smote a pillar thatstood hard by so sharply that the steelfixed itself in the stone . When Huon sawwhat had befallen , he smote

“

the giant and

struck off both his hands . The giant turnedto flee, but the Lady Sybil , for she had come,desiring to save the Christian knight, threw astaff between his legs so that he fell

,headlong

to the earth when Huon saw him lie thus, hesmote off his head with one stroke of hissword.

This done,Huon looked forth from a

window of the tower, and cried to his comrades, where they stood in no l ittle fear,“ Come up hither, I have slain the giant.

”

24


Then the Lady Sybil turned the handle asbefore , so that the flails were stayed and theyentered the tower. The day being now farspent, they sat down to supper, and made goodcheer.On the morrow, Huon said to his com

panionsr“ Tarry you here in the tower with

the Lady Sybil , for I wil l go to Babylon alone.I f I come not again in fifteen days, then takeship

,and depart to the land of France . ” But

Gerames said, “ Not so, my lord ; we willtarry for you the space of a whole year.” Andto this they al l agreed .

Huon,therefore, journeyed to Babylon .

When he came near to the city, he perceivedthat the woods were crowded with wayfarers,some that went a-hawking and some thatcame back from their sport , and merchants,and travellers, with horses and carriages . Hemarvelled to see them , for they were strange ofaspect to him and they also marvelled at him,

for the fashion of his armour was not the fashionof their country. So much was he occup iedwith the sight, that the giant

’s r ing passedwholly from his mind, from which forgettingthere came to him, as will be seen , muchtrouble.When he came to the Admiral ’s palace, he

350 HOW HUON CAME TO'BABYLON

in the pa lace . Go bring him to me before hedo us any mischief.Huon was not a l ittle troubled when he

found that no one came to his blowing of thehorn .

“ I am in an evil case,” he said , “ nor

shall I see my people or my country any more .Nevertheless i t becomes a man to keep a goodcourage.

”And when the Admiral

’

s lords cameto him , he took no heed of them, but walkedstraight forward, and they feared to lay handson him .

When he came to where the Admiral sat, hemade no obeisance , but drew his sword, andsaid , “ I come from the great K ing Charles. ”

Before he could say more , the Admiral criedaloud,

“Seize me this villain ! ” And the lordsmade as if they would seize him . Then Huontook the ring from his finger, and showed it tothe Admiral , saying not a word .

When the Admiral saw the ring, he said,Leave this man alone ; he is here of right .

”

Then Huon said,I am a Christian man , and

I come from the great K ing of the ChristiansHear, therefore, the message that he sendsTurn from your false gods ; confess the faithof Christ ; acknowledge that you hold yourkingdom of me ; and send me for token yourroyal sceptre. I f you will not do these things,


I wil l come with an army, and utterly destroyboth you and your people . ’ This is the King ’smessage, and I counsel you to take heedthereto .

”

When the Admiral heard these words,his

anger passed all bounds . Know,

” he cried,

that before you fifteen messengers have cometo me making this same demand

,and these

fifteen have been hanged by the neck inthe very same place ; and you shall be thes ixteenth .

” And he said to his men,

“ Seizeme this fellow Then

’

Huon , setting his backto the wall, and drawing his sword, foughtwith all his might. Many he slew ; but whenhe had fought for an hour or more , and thenumber of the enemy was increased rather thandiminished

,and he had grown faint with heat

and toil,then he was constrained to yield. So

the Saracens bound him , and set him before theAdmiral .The Admiral said to his lords, “What shall

we do with this fellow ? ” and the lords answeredw ith one voice, “ Let him be slain forthwith .

Nevertheless there was one lord , an old man ,and held in great repute for his wisdom, whodid not consent to this counsel . S ir,

” said heto the Admiral , our law forbids that any man

Should be put to death this day . I advise,


therefore , that he be kept in custody for ayear ; after that we wil l take counsel about himagain . Also there is another matter that I fainwould know . How came this man hither ?

Ask him,my lord .

”

So the Admiral sa id, “ Fellow,declare to me

by what means you passed the gates .

” ThenHuon said to himself, “ I will speak no morefalsehoods, though I perish for it.

” And heheld up the ring, saying, “ I passed the gatesby virtue of this ring.

” And he told how hecame by the ring, and how he had slain thegiant in the tower.When the old councillor heard these things

,

he said to the Admiral , “ Sir, we ought tothank this man rather than harm him

,seeing

that he has slain the giant that was wont to dous so much mischief. The Admiral answered

,

I know not how to thank the man who broughtme a message so insolent. But as to thekeeping of him al ive, i t shall be done as yousay. I will not depart from the customs of myforefathers . Let him be kept in prison for aspace. 50 the Admiral

’s yeomen took Huon,

and cast him into a dungeon that was underthe palace .

Now it so chanced that when Huon wasbrought before the Admiral , the Admiral

’s fair


because the dungeon was a darksome place,

and -neither could She see the knight ’s face norcould the knight see hers .When Huon heard the maiden thus speak

,

he said to himself, “ Now must I be true asbecomes a Christian man . I must tell thismaiden that I , being a Christian man, may nothave friendship with a Saracen ; but of love Iwill not speak, lest i t should shame her.

” So hesaid

,Fair lady, for fair you must be, seeing

that you are so gracious,I thank you much for

your kindness,nor will I refuse such service as

you may find it in your heart to render me .Only you must know that I , being aChristian man , can have no friendship w itha Saracen .

The Lady Esclairmonde, hearing him thusspeak, was fi lled with anger against h im.

“ I fyou will not have me for a friend,

” she said,verily you shall have me for an enemy, andwill find that you have chosen the worst part. ”

Then she went out from the dungeon , andsaid to the jailor, “ See that this fellow haveneith er meat nor drink for three days. ” Andthe jailor Said, Lady, i t shall be done as youcommand .

”

Before the three days were passed, Esc lair~

monde repented in her heart that she had


done th is th ing. She went, therefore, to thejailor, and said to him,

“ Open the door, for Iwould speak with this prisoner. And whenhe had opened the door, she said to Huon,S ir Knight, I do greatly admire your con

stancy, in that you hold out against hungerand thirst

,which to many, I doubt not, are

harder to be borne than any perils or hurts ofbattle. Hear me, therefore I do promise thatif I can escape from this land, I will bechristened as soon as I come to any landwhere th is may be done. ” Huon answere dher, “ You make me right glad, fair lady ; I dothank you with all my heart. ”

Esclairmonde said to the jailor, Now setbefore the prisoner meat and drink

,and take

such care of him as you best can . Only tellthe Admiral that the man is dead of hunger.The jailor answered, “ I t shall be done as youdesire. ”

CHAPTER XL

How HUON RETURNED, HIS ERRAND FULFILLED

HEN Gerames and the Lady Sybil hadtarried for three months in the tower,

and had heard no tidings of Huon , they weregreatly troubled and doubted what they shoulddo. And while they doubted, i t chanced thatcerta in pagans came in a ship bringing tributeto the giant . When Gerames perceived them,

he said to his company, “ We do ill to tarryhere

,when Huon , i t may be, needs our help.

Let us take this ship, therefore, and sail overthe sea till we come to Babylon .

”

So theytook the ship, the pagans not being able tohinder them .

When they were come to Babylon, Geramesled his company to the Admiral ’s palace, andwent in and saluted him where he sat with hislords

,saying

,Now may Mahomet, of whose

gift both corn and wine come to the sons of302

304 HOW HUON RETURNED

When Gerames heard these words he wasgreatly troubled . Such was his anger that hehad much ado to keep himself from runningat the Admiral to slay him ; but with a staffthat he had

,he smote the false prisoners that

he had so hardly that the blood ran down .

And they, for fear of the Admiral, durst notstir nevertheless they cursed Gerames in theirhearts . Said the Admiral ,

“ Fair nephew,i t

seems to me that you have but l ittle love forChristian men .

” Even so , s i r,” answered

Gerames ;“ three t imes a day do I beat them

in honour of my God Mahomet . Then heled the Frenchmen to prison , beating themas he went, but none of them durst say one

As they went, they met the Lady Esclairmonde , who said, “ Cousin, I am right glad ofyour coming, and now let me tel l you of aprivate matter, i f you wil l promise to keepit secret . ” “ That will I do right will ingly,answered Gerames.

“ Listen, then , said thedamsel . There came to this place some fivemonths since a French knight, bringing amessage from King Charlemagne: Him , myfather

, taking the message that he broughtvery ill , put in prison . I persuaded my father,for a reason that I had, that this Huon is dead

HOW HUON RETURNED 365

of hunger, but in truth he is al ive, and , indeed ,is as well served with meat and drink as is myfather himself.”

Gerames made no answer, doubting whatmight be in the damsel

’s heart, and fearingthat it might be a device for discovering thetruth concerning himself. He spake no word ,therefore

,but thrust the Frenchmen roughly

into the prison .

Now the prison was so dark that Huon couldnot by any means discover who they might bethat had thus been brought into his company.

But in a short space he heard one of themlamenting his hard fate, and praying to theLord Christ that He would succour them ,

For,” said he, “ Thou knowest that we have

done no wrong that we should be cast into th isplace , having come hither for the sake of ouryoung lord Huon.

” When Huon heard this,

he knew that they were Frenchmen , and said ,Tel l me now, fair S ir, what has befal len you .

”

So the lord told him his story. And Huon ,when he had heard it, said, “ I am Huon

,safe

,

and in good health , thanks to the fair Esclairmonde , who is , indeed, a Christian damsel atthe heart. ” Then the Frenchmen began tocomplain right b itterly concerning Gerames ,

saying that he was the worst and cruelles t


traitor on earth .

“ Nay, said Huon,

“ becontent, Gerames has done all this to del iverus

,as you will soon know for a certainty.

”

And so it happened, for Gerames , having hadmore talk with the fair Esclairmonde, andhaving heard that she was well disposed in herheart to Huon and his companions , came thatn ight to the dungeon, and declared the truth .

“ Only,” said he, “ we must wait awhile till

there shal l be a fitting opportunity.

”

After seven days there came to t he palacea great giant, Agrapart by name, brother toAngolafer, whom Huon had slain . The purpose of his coming was to demand from theAdmiral the tribute that had been paid bycustom to h is brother. Now the Admiral wasS i tting at d inner when he came , and the giantcame to the table, and said , “ You are a falsetraitor, for you harbour a villain that by somefoul means slew my brother Angolafer. Andwhen he had so spoken, he reached out hishand, and dragged the Admiral from his seatso rudely that the crown upon h is head fell tothe ground. This done, he himself sa t downin the Admiral

’

s chair, and said , “ My will isthat you pay me the tribute that you were wontto pay my brother, for that w hich was his hasby right come to me. Yet I offer you this


a good prison , said the Admiral . “ Yea,

”

answered Huon,

“ and I thank your daughtertherefor. But tel l me now why you have sentfor me. ” Said the Admiral , “ See you thatgiant ? He has chal lenged any man, yea, anytwo men , and I can find none that are will ingto fight with h im . Now, therefore, i f you willfight with h im and overcome him , then you andall your company shall return to King Charlemagne . Also I will give into your hands apresent for the King ; I wil l engage also tosend him year by year a l ike present for headmoney ; also I will bind myself to serve himwith such a host as he may require . Verily Iwould sooner be his bond-slave than pay tributeto this evil giant . But if you rather choose toabide with me, then will I give you my daughterEsclairmonde in marriage, and with her thehal f of my kingdom .

”

Sir,

”

said Huon , will ingly wil l I fightwith th is giant. But first you must give meback my horn and my cup that were takenfrom me. ” “ I t shall be done,

” said the Admiral,and he commanded that they should give thehorn and the cup to Huon . These Huondel ivered to Gerames to keep for him . Afterthis be armed himself for battle. And whe nthe Admiral saw h im duly equipped for the


fight,he said, “ This is as goodly a knight as

ever I beheld .

When the giant and Huon came together inthe field, the giant asked this question ,

“ Whatis your kinship to the Admiral that you arewill ing to fight for him ? Huon answeredhim

,I am not of kin to him , I am a French

man born , and I slew your brother.” “ That

is ill hearing,” said the giant ;

“ nevertheless Iam thankful to Mahomet that he gives meoccasion to revenge my brother

’s death ; yet,for I see that you are a brave man, i f you willworship Mahomet, I wi ll give you my sister inmarriage—and she is a foot higher than Iand black as a coal—and the half of mylands. Huon answered, “ I wi ll have noneof your lands or your s ister. I t is t ime tofight ”

Then the two, setting their spears i n rest,charged at each other, and this so fiercely thattheir spears were broken in p ieces and theirhorses borne to the ground. But the twoleapt l ightly to their feet, and next the giantwould have stricken Huon with a great blow

,

but Huon leapt l ightly to one side so that thegiant missed his stroke. But Huon in his turnsmote the giant in the helm, and cut off hisear. Then the giant was sore afraid and cried

25


to Huon , “ I yield me to you ; I pray you todo me no hurt,

”

The Admiral was greatly pleased with thevictory , and Esclairmonde had even greaterjoy. When Gerames saw what had befallen

,

he said to the Admiral, “ Know that I am noSaracen, no, nor nephew of yours, but I cameto look for my lord, Huon of Bordeaux TheAdmiral , when he heard this, said, “ Of a truthi t is hard to be aware of the craft and subtletyof these Frenchmen .

”

Meanwhile Huon came and del ivered up thegiant to the Admiral . The giant knelt down

,

and said,I did think myself the most mighty

man upon the whole face of the earth , and thatnot ten men could prevai l over me, but nowam I overcome by one only. Therefore Isubmit myself to you and crave your pardon .

“ My pardon you shall have ,” answered the

Admiral, “ i f you will promise not to trespassagainst me hereafter, and will swear to be myman so long as you shall l ive .

“ I promise,

and kneel ing down in the sight of all, he sworehe would be the Admiral

’s man .

These things finished , the Admiral and hischief lords

,with the Frenchmen, sat down to

dinner. At dinner Huon took the cup thatOberon had given him , and showed it to the


happened as he wished. So Oberon andHuon overran the city of Babylon . All thatwould not be baptized they slew, and amongthem the Admiral , who was stout in refusingto leave his false gods , and al l that consentedto be baptized they saved al ive. And Huontook to himself the Admiral ’s sceptre

,and then

Oberon wished again, and straightway he andHuon and all h is company and the fairEsclairmonde were on the shore of the sea .

And he caused that a goodly ship should beready to take them to thei r own land . SoHuon embarked with the fair Esclairmonde

and all his people also they took with themthe ch ief treasures of the city of Babylon .

Then Oberon bade farewel l to Huon , saying,See now that you tel l the truth and keep youfrom sin ; so shall you prosper all your days ,and come to bl iss when your days are ended .

And now render me again the cup and thehorn

,for you need them no more. ”

Then Huon and his company and the fairEsclairmonde departed in the ship

,and in

time came to the land of France. There didHuon render to Charlemagne the Admiral ’ssceptre ; and the King received him into his royalfavour

,and gave him back h is lands . Then

was Huon wedded to the fair Esc lairmonde,


and these two lived together in great happinessto their l ives ’ end .

Not long after that Huon had been restoredto his Duchy of Bordeaux, the EmperorCharlemagne died, having been seized by afever

,which

,as being now old and worn out

by many labours both in war and peace, hewas unable to resist. There had been , i t issa id, many signs of his death—ecl ipses of thesun and moon, and other marvellous th ings .Also

,when he was making his last expedition

against the Danes, he saw a great l ight, as itwere a blaz ing torch, pass through a clearsky and fall to the ground ; and the horse onwhich he was riding fel l to the ground withgreat violence. Also the palace in which hedwelt at Aachen was shaken by earthquakes

,

and in the Church which he himself hadfounded there happened this portent, that theword PRI NCEPS , in the inscription whichrecorded this h is munificence , so faded awaythat it could no longer be read . So Charlemagne died on the 28th of January in the yearof Our Salvation, 8 14. He was buried ina sepulchral chamber in this same Churchof Aachen . Many years after, the chamberhaving been Opened, the body of the Emperor


was found seated on a throne as if he yet l ived,clothed with imperial robes

,bearing on his

head the crown , and grasping the sceptre inhis hand, while by h is s ide lay his swordJ oyous, and on his knees was a book of theGospels .I n l ife he was of a tal l and strong person ,

being seven feet in height. H is eyes werelarge and piercing, his hair and beard long.

He was of pleasant speech, and could speakother tongues bes ides his own . Writing hestrove to acquire in his mature years , butcould not learn the art. He was in truth avery noble and mighty prince.

stories of charlemagne and the twelve peers of france

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