CHAPTER VIII
At this the challenger with fierce defy His trumpet sounds; the challenged makes reply: With clangour rings the field, resounds the vaulted sky. Their visors closed, their lances in the rest, Or at the helmet pointed or the crest, They vanish from the barrier, speed the race, And spurring see decrease the middle space. Palamon and Arcite
In the midst of Prince John's cavalcade, he suddenly stopt, andappealing to the Prior of Jorvaulx, declared the principal business ofthe day had been forgotten.
By my halidom, said he, we have forgotten, Sir Prior, to name thefair Sovereign of Love and of Beauty, by whose white hand the palm is tobe distributed. For my part, I am liberal in my ideas, and I care not ifI give my vote for the black-eyed Rebecca.
Holy Virgin, answered the Prior, turning up his eyes in horror, aJewess!--We should deserve to be stoned out of the lists; and I am notyet old enough to be a martyr. Besides, I swear by my patron saint, thatshe is far inferior to the lovely Saxon, Rowena.
Saxon or Jew, answered the Prince, Saxon or Jew, dog or hog, whatmatters it? I say, name Rebecca, were it only to mortify the Saxonchurls.
A murmur arose even among his own immediate attendants.
This passes a jest, my lord, said De Bracy; no knight here will laylance in rest if such an insult is attempted.
It is the mere wantonness of insult, said one of the oldest and mostimportant of Prince John's followers, Waldemar Fitzurse, and if yourGrace attempt it, cannot but prove ruinous to your projects.
I entertained you, sir, said John, reining up his palfrey haughtily,for my follower, but not for my counsellor.
Those who follow your Grace in the paths which you tread, saidWaldemar, but speaking in a low voice, acquire the right ofcounsellors; for your interest and safety are not more deeply gaged thantheir own.
From the tone in which this was spoken, John saw the necessity ofacquiescence I did but jest, he said; and you turn upon me likeso many adders! Name whom you will, in the fiend's name, and pleaseyourselves.
Nay, nay, said De Bracy, let the fair sovereign's throne remainunoccupied, until the conqueror shall be named, and then let him choosethe lady by whom it shall be filled. It will add another grace to histriumph, and teach fair ladies to prize the love of valiant knights, whocan exalt them to such distinction.
If Brian de Bois-Guilbert gain the prize, said the Prior, I will gagemy rosary that I name the Sovereign of Love and Beauty.
Bois-Guilbert, answered De Bracy, is a good lance; but there areothers around these lists, Sir Prior, who will not fear to encounterhim.
Silence, sirs, said Waldemar, and let the Prince assume his seat.The knights and spectators are alike impatient, the time advances, andhighly fit it is that the sports should commence.
Prince John, though not yet a monarch, had in Waldemar Fitzurse all theinconveniences of a favourite minister, who, in serving his sovereign,must always do so in his own way. The Prince acquiesced, however,although his disposition was precisely of that kind which is apt to beobstinate upon trifles, and, assuming his throne, and being surroundedby his followers, gave signal to the heralds to proclaim the laws of thetournament, which were briefly as follows:
First, the five challengers were to undertake all comers.
Secondly, any knight proposing to combat, might, if he pleased, selecta special antagonist from among the challengers, by touching his shield.If he did so with the reverse of his lance, the trial of skill was madewith what were called the arms of courtesy, that is, with lances atwhose extremity a piece of round flat board was fixed, so that no dangerwas encountered, save from the shock of the horses and riders. But ifthe shield was touched with the sharp end of the lance, the combat wasunderstood to be at outrance, that is, the knights were to fight withsharp weapons, as in actual battle.
Thirdly, when the knights present had accomplished their vow, by each ofthem breaking five lances, the Prince was to declare the victor in thefirst day's tourney, who should receive as prize a warhorse of exquisitebeauty and matchless strength; and in addition to this reward of valour,it was now declared, he should have the peculiar honour of naming theQueen of Love and Beauty, by whom the prize should be given on theensuing day.
Fourthly, it was announced, that, on the second day, there should be ageneral tournament, in which all the knights present, who were desirousto win praise, might take part; and being divided into two bands ofequal numbers, might fight it out manfully, until the signal was givenby Prince John to cease the combat. The elected Queen of Love and Beautywas then to crown the knight whom the Prince should adjudge to haveborne himself best in this second day, with a coronet composed of thingold plate, cut into the shape of a laurel crown. On this second daythe knightly games ceased. But on that which was to follow, feats ofarchery, of bull-baiting, and other popular amusements, were to bepractised, for the more immediate amusement of the populace. In thismanner did Prince John endeavour to lay the foundation of a popularity,which he was perpetually throwing down by some inconsiderate act ofwanton aggression upon the feelings and prejudices of the people.
The lists now presented a most splendid spectacle. The sloping gallerieswere crowded with all that was noble, great, wealthy, and beautifulin the northern and midland parts of England; and the contrast of thevarious dresses of these dignified spectators, rendered the view asgay as it was rich, while the interior and lower space, filled with thesubstantial burgesses and yeomen of merry England, formed, in their moreplain attire, a dark fringe, or border, around this circle of brilliantembroidery, relieving, and, at the same time, setting off its splendour.
The heralds finished their proclamation with their usual cry ofLargesse, largesse, gallant knights! and gold and silver pieces wereshowered on them from the galleries, it being a high point of chivalryto exhibit liberality towards those whom the age accounted at once thesecretaries and the historians of honour. The bounty of the spectatorswas acknowledged by the customary shouts of Love of Ladies--Death ofChampions--Honour to the Generous--Glory to the Brave! To which themore humble spectators added their acclamations, and a numerous band oftrumpeters the flourish of their martial instruments. When these soundshad ceased, the heralds withdrew from the lists in gay and glitteringprocession, and none remained within them save the marshals of thefield, who, armed cap-a-pie, sat on horseback, motionless as statues,at the opposite ends of the lists. Meantime, the enclosed space at thenorthern extremity of the lists, large as it was, was now completelycrowded with knights desirous to prove their skill against thechallengers, and, when viewed from the galleries, presented theappearance of a sea of waving plumage, intermixed with glisteninghelmets, and tall lances, to the extremities of which were, in manycases, attached small pennons of about a span's breadth, which,fluttering in the air as the breeze caught them, joined with therestless motion of the feathers to add liveliness to the scene.
At length the barriers were opened, and five knights, chosen by lot,advanced slowly into the area; a single champion riding in front, andthe other four following in pairs. All were splendidly armed, and mySaxon authority (in the Wardour Manuscript) records at great lengththeir devices, their colours, and the embroidery of their horsetrappings. It is unnecessary to be particular on these subjects. Toborrow lines from a contemporary poet, who has written but too little:
The knights are dust, And their good swords are rust, Their souls are with the saints, we trust. [17]
Their escutcheons have long mouldered from the walls of their castles.Their castles themselves are but green mounds and shattered ruins--theplace that once knew them, knows them no more--nay, many a race sincetheirs has died out and been forgotten in the very land which theyoccupied, with all the authority of feudal proprietors and feudallords. What, then, would it avail the reader to know their names, or theevanescent symbols of their martial rank!
Now, however, no whit anticipating the oblivion which awaited theirnames and feats, the champions advanced through the lists, restrainingtheir fiery steeds, and compelling them to move slowly, while, at thesame time, they exhibited their paces, together with the grace anddexterity of the riders. As the procession entered the lists, thesound of a wild Barbaric music was heard from behind the tents of thechallengers, where the performers were concealed. It was of Easternorigin, having been brought from the Holy Land; and the mixture of thecymbals and bells seemed to bid welcome at once, and defiance, to theknights as they advanced. With the eyes of an immense concourse ofspectators fixed upon them, the five knights advanced up the platformupon which the tents of the challengers stood, and there separatingthemselves, each touched slightly, and with the reverse of his lance,the shield of the antagonist to whom he wished to oppose himself. Thelower orders of spectators in general--nay, many of the higher class,and it is even said several of the ladies, were rather disappointedat the champions choosing the arms of courtesy. For the same sortof persons, who, in the present day, applaud most highly the deepesttragedies, were then interested in a tournament exactly in proportion tothe danger incurred by the champions engaged.
Having intimated their more pacific purpose, the champions retreatedto the extremity of the lists, where they remained drawn up in a line;while the challengers, sallying each from his pavilion, mounted theirhorses, and, headed by Brian de Bois-Guilbert, descended from theplatform, and opposed themselves individually to the knights who hadtouched their respective shields.
At the flourish of clarions and trumpets, they started out againsteach other at full gallop; and such was the superior dexterity orgood fortune of the challengers, that those opposed to Bois-Guilbert,Malvoisin, and Front-de-Boeuf, rolled on the ground. The antagonist ofGrantmesnil, instead of bearing his lance-point fair against the crestor the shield of his enemy, swerved so much from the direct line asto break the weapon athwart the person of his opponent--a circumstancewhich was accounted more disgraceful than that of being actuallyunhorsed; because the latter might happen from accident, whereas theformer evinced awkwardness and want of management of the weapon and ofthe horse. The fifth knight alone maintained the honour of his party,and parted fairly with the Knight of St John, both splintering theirlances without advantage on either side.
The shouts of the multitude, together with the acclamations of theheralds, and the clangour of the trumpets, announced the triumph of thevictors and the defeat of the vanquished. The former retreated totheir pavilions, and the latter, gathering themselves up as they could,withdrew from the lists in disgrace and dejection, to agree with theirvictors concerning the redemption of their arms and their horses, which,according to the laws of the tournament, they had forfeited. The fifthof their number alone tarried in the lists long enough to be greetedby the applauses of the spectators, amongst whom he retreated, to theaggravation, doubtless, of his companions' mortification.
A second and a third party of knights took the field; and althoughthey had various success, yet, upon the whole, the advantage decidedlyremained with the challengers, not one of whom lost his seat orswerved from his charge--misfortunes which befell one or two of theirantagonists in each encounter. The spirits, therefore, of those opposedto them, seemed to be considerably damped by their continued success.Three knights only appeared on the fourth entry, who, avoiding theshields of Bois-Guilbert and Front-de-Boeuf, contented themselveswith touching those of the three other knights, who had not altogethermanifested the same strength and dexterity. This politic selectiondid not alter the fortune of the field, the challengers were stillsuccessful: one of their antagonists was overthrown, and both the othersfailed in the attaint, [18] that is, in striking the helmet and shieldof their antagonist firmly and strongly, with the lance held in a directline, so that the weapon might break unless the champion was overthrown.
After this fourth encounter, there was a considerable pause; nor didit appear that any one was very desirous of renewing the contest.The spectators murmured among themselves; for, among the challengers,Malvoisin and Front-de-Boeuf were unpopular from their characters,and the others, except Grantmesnil, were disliked as strangers andforeigners.
But none shared the general feeling of dissatisfaction so keenly asCedric the Saxon, who saw, in each advantage gained by the Normanchallengers, a repeated triumph over the honour of England. His owneducation had taught him no skill in the games of chivalry, although,with the arms of his Saxon ancestors, he had manifested himself, onmany occasions, a brave and determined soldier. He looked anxiouslyto Athelstane, who had learned the accomplishments of the age, as ifdesiring that he should make some personal effort to recover the victorywhich was passing into the hands of the Templar and his associates.But, though both stout of heart, and strong of person, Athelstane had adisposition too inert and unambitious to make the exertions which Cedricseemed to expect from him.
The day is against England, my lord, said Cedric, in a marked tone;are you not tempted to take the lance?
I shall tilt to-morrow answered Athelstane, in the 'melee'; it is notworth while for me to arm myself to-day.
Two things displeased Cedric in this speech. It contained the Normanword melee, (to express the general conflict,) and it evincedsome indifference to the honour of the country; but it was spoken byAthelstane, whom he held in such profound respect, that he would nottrust himself to canvass his motives or his foibles. Moreover, he hadno time to make any remark, for Wamba thrust in his word, observing, Itwas better, though scarce easier, to be the best man among a hundred,than the best man of two.
Athelstane took the observation as a serious compliment; but Cedric,who better understood the Jester's meaning, darted at him a severe andmenacing look; and lucky it was for Wamba, perhaps, that the time andplace prevented his receiving, notwithstanding his place and service,more sensible marks of his master's resentment.
The pause in the tournament was still uninterrupted, excepting bythe voices of the heralds exclaiming--Love of ladies, splintering oflances! stand forth gallant knights, fair eyes look upon your deeds!
The music also of the challengers breathed from time to time wild burstsexpressive of triumph or defiance, while the clowns grudged a holidaywhich seemed to pass away in inactivity; and old knights and nobleslamented in whispers the decay of martial spirit, spoke of the triumphsof their younger days, but agreed that the land did not now supply damesof such transcendent beauty as had animated the jousts of former times.Prince John began to talk to his attendants about making readythe banquet, and the necessity of adjudging the prize to Brian deBois-Guilbert, who had, with a single spear, overthrown two knights, andfoiled a third.
At length, as the Saracenic music of the challengers concluded one ofthose long and high flourishes with which they had broken the silence ofthe lists, it was answered by a solitary trumpet, which breathed a noteof defiance from the northern extremity. All eyes were turned to seethe new champion which these sounds announced, and no sooner were thebarriers opened than he paced into the lists. As far as could be judgedof a man sheathed in armour, the new adventurer did not greatly exceedthe middle size, and seemed to be rather slender than strongly made.His suit of armour was formed of steel, richly inlaid with gold, and thedevice on his shield was a young oak-tree pulled up by the roots, withthe Spanish word Desdichado, signifying Disinherited. He was mounted ona gallant black horse, and as he passed through the lists he gracefullysaluted the Prince and the ladies by lowering his lance. The dexteritywith which he managed his steed, and something of youthful grace whichhe displayed in his manner, won him the favour of the multitude, whichsome of the lower classes expressed by calling out, Touch Ralph deVipont's shield--touch the Hospitallers shield; he has the least sureseat, he is your cheapest bargain.
The champion, moving onward amid these well-meant hints, ascended theplatform by the sloping alley which led to it from the lists, and,to the astonishment of all present, riding straight up to the centralpavilion, struck with the sharp end of his spear the shield of Briande Bois-Guilbert until it rung again. All stood astonished at hispresumption, but none more than the redoubted Knight whom he had thusdefied to mortal combat, and who, little expecting so rude a challenge,was standing carelessly at the door of the pavilion.
Have you confessed yourself, brother, said the Templar, and have youheard mass this morning, that you peril your life so frankly?
I am fitter to meet death than thou art answered the DisinheritedKnight; for by this name the stranger had recorded himself in the booksof the tourney.
Then take your place in the lists, said Bois-Guilbert, and look yourlast upon the sun; for this night thou shalt sleep in paradise.
Gramercy for thy courtesy, replied the Disinherited Knight, and torequite it, I advise thee to take a fresh horse and a new lance, for bymy honour you will need both.
Having expressed himself thus confidently, he reined his horse backwarddown the slope which he had ascended, and compelled him in the samemanner to move backward through the lists, till he reached thenorthern extremity, where he remained stationary, in expectation of hisantagonist. This feat of horsemanship again attracted the applause ofthe multitude.
However incensed at his adversary for the precautions which herecommended, Brian de Bois-Guilbert did not neglect his advice; forhis honour was too nearly concerned, to permit his neglecting any meanswhich might ensure victory over his presumptuous opponent. He changedhis horse for a proved and fresh one of great strength and spirit. Hechose a new and a tough spear, lest the wood of the former might havebeen strained in the previous encounters he had sustained. Lastly,he laid aside his shield, which had received some little damage, andreceived another from his squires. His first had only borne the generaldevice of his rider, representing two knights riding upon one horse, anemblem expressive of the original humility and poverty of the Templars,qualities which they had since exchanged for the arrogance and wealththat finally occasioned their suppression. Bois-Guilbert's new shieldbore a raven in full flight, holding in its claws a skull, and bearingthe motto, Gare le Corbeau.
When the two champions stood opposed to each other at the twoextremities of the lists, the public expectation was strained to thehighest pitch. Few augured the possibility that the encounter couldterminate well for the Disinherited Knight, yet his courage andgallantry secured the general good wishes of the spectators.
The trumpets had no sooner given the signal, than the champions vanishedfrom their posts with the speed of lightning, and closed in the centreof the lists with the shock of a thunderbolt. The lances burst intoshivers up to the very grasp, and it seemed at the moment that bothknights had fallen, for the shock had made each horse recoil backwardsupon its haunches. The address of the riders recovered their steedsby use of the bridle and spur; and having glared on each other for aninstant with eyes which seemed to flash fire through the bars of theirvisors, each made a demi-volte, and, retiring to the extremity of thelists, received a fresh lance from the attendants.
A loud shout from the spectators, waving of scarfs and handkerchiefs,and general acclamations, attested the interest taken by the spectatorsin this encounter; the most equal, as well as the best performed, whichhad graced the day. But no sooner had the knights resumed their station,than the clamour of applause was hushed into a silence, so deep and sodead, that it seemed the multitude were afraid even to breathe.
A few minutes pause having been allowed, that the combatants and theirhorses might recover breath, Prince John with his truncheon signed tothe trumpets to sound the onset. The champions a second time sprung fromtheir stations, and closed in the centre of the lists, with the samespeed, the same dexterity, the same violence, but not the same equalfortune as before.
In this second encounter, the Templar aimed at the centre of hisantagonist's shield, and struck it so fair and forcibly, that his spearwent to shivers, and the Disinherited Knight reeled in his saddle.On the other hand, that champion had, in the beginning of his career,directed the point of his lance towards Bois-Guilbert's shield, but,changing his aim almost in the moment of encounter, he addressed itto the helmet, a mark more difficult to hit, but which, if attained,rendered the shock more irresistible. Fair and true he hit the Norman onthe visor, where his lance's point kept hold of the bars. Yet, even atthis disadvantage, the Templar sustained his high reputation; and hadnot the girths of his saddle burst, he might not have been unhorsed. Asit chanced, however, saddle, horse, and man, rolled on the ground undera cloud of dust.
To extricate himself from the stirrups and fallen steed, was to theTemplar scarce the work of a moment; and, stung with madness, both athis disgrace and at the acclamations with which it was hailed by thespectators, he drew his sword and waved it in defiance of his conqueror.The Disinherited Knight sprung from his steed, and also unsheathed hissword. The marshals of the field, however, spurred their horses betweenthem, and reminded them, that the laws of the tournament did not, on thepresent occasion, permit this species of encounter.
We shall meet again, I trust, said the Templar, casting a resentfulglance at his antagonist; and where there are none to separate us.
If we do not, said the Disinherited Knight, the fault shall not bemine. On foot or horseback, with spear, with axe, or with sword, I amalike ready to encounter thee.
More and angrier words would have been exchanged, but the marshals,crossing their lances betwixt them, compelled them to separate. TheDisinherited Knight returned to his first station, and Bois-Guilbertto his tent, where he remained for the rest of the day in an agony ofdespair.
Without alighting from his horse, the conqueror called for a bowl ofwine, and opening the beaver, or lower part of his helmet, announcedthat he quaffed it, To all true English hearts, and to the confusion offoreign tyrants. He then commanded his trumpet to sound a defianceto the challengers, and desired a herald to announce to them, that heshould make no election, but was willing to encounter them in the orderin which they pleased to advance against him.
The gigantic Front-de-Boeuf, armed in sable armour, was the first whotook the field. He bore on a white shield a black bull's head, halfdefaced by the numerous encounters which he had undergone, and bearingthe arrogant motto, Cave, Adsum. Over this champion the DisinheritedKnight obtained a slight but decisive advantage. Both Knights broketheir lances fairly, but Front-de-Boeuf, who lost a stirrup in theencounter, was adjudged to have the disadvantage.
In the stranger's third encounter with Sir Philip Malvoisin, he wasequally successful; striking that baron so forcibly on the casque, thatthe laces of the helmet broke, and Malvoisin, only saved from falling bybeing unhelmeted, was declared vanquished like his companions.
In his fourth combat with De Grantmesnil, the Disinherited Knight showedas much courtesy as he had hitherto evinced courage and dexterity. DeGrantmesnil's horse, which was young and violent, reared and plungedin the course of the career so as to disturb the rider's aim, and thestranger, declining to take the advantage which this accident affordedhim, raised his lance, and passing his antagonist without touchinghim, wheeled his horse and rode back again to his own end of the lists,offering his antagonist, by a herald, the chance of a second encounter.This De Grantmesnil declined, avowing himself vanquished as much by thecourtesy as by the address of his opponent.
Ralph de Vipont summed up the list of the stranger's triumphs, beinghurled to the ground with such force, that the blood gushed from hisnose and his mouth, and he was borne senseless from the lists.
The acclamations of thousands applauded the unanimous award of thePrince and marshals, announcing that day's honours to the DisinheritedKnight.