The Boy Knight: A Tale of the Crusades Page 6

  CHAPTER VI.

  THE LISTS.

  The third day after the arrival of the Earl of Evesham there was a greatbanquet given by the King of France to King Richard and his principalnobles.

  Among those present was the Earl of Evesham, and Cuthbert as his pagefollowed him to the great tent where the banquet was prepared.

  Here, at the top of the tent, on a raised dais, sat the King of France,surrounded by his courtiers. The Earl of Evesham, having been conductedby the herald to the dais, paid his compliments to the king, and wassaluted by him with many flattering words.

  The sound of a trumpet was heard, and Richard of England, accompanied byhis principal nobles, entered.

  It was the first time that Cuthbert had seen the king.

  Richard was a man of splendid stature and of enormous strength. Hisappearance was in some respects rather Saxon than Norman, for his hairwas light and his complexion clear and bright. He wore the mustache andpointed beard at that time in fashion; and although his expression wasgenerally that of frankness and good humor, there might be observed inhis quick motions and piercing glances signs of the hasty temper andunbridled passion which went far to wreck the success of the enterpriseupon which he was embarked.

  Richard possessed most of the qualities which make a man a great kingand render him the idol of his subjects, especially in a time ofsemi-civilization, when personal prowess is placed at the summit of allhuman virtues. In all his dominions there was not one man who inpersonal conflict was a match for his king.

  Except during his fits of passion, King Richard was generous, forgiving,and royal in his moods. He was incapable of bearing malice. Althoughhaughty of his dignity, he was entirely free from any personal pride,and while he would maintain to the death every right and privilegeagainst another monarch, he could laugh and joke with the humblest ofhis subjects on terms of hearty good fellowship. He was impatient ofcontradiction, eager to carry out whatever he had determined upon; andnothing enraged him so much as hesitation or procrastination. The delayswhich were experienced in the course of the Crusade angered him morethan all the opposition offered by the Saracens, or than the hardshipsthrough which the Christian host had to pass.

  At a flourish of trumpets all took their seats at dinner, their placesbeing marked for them by a herald, whose duty it was to regulate nicelythe various ranks and dignities.

  The Earl of Evesham was placed next to a noble of Brabant. Cuthbert tookhis place behind his lord and served him with wines and meats, theBrabant being attended by a tall youth, who was indeed on the verge ofmanhood.

  As the dinner went on the buzz of conversation became fast and furious.In those days men drank deep, and quarrels often arose over the cups.From the time that the dinner began Cuthbert noticed that the manner ofSir de Jacquelin Barras, Count of Brabant, was rude and offensive.

  It might be that he was accustomed to live alone with his retainers, andthat his manners were rude and coarse to all. It might be that he had aspecial hostility to the English. At any rate, his remarks werecalculated to fire the anger of the earl.

  He began the conversation by wondering how a Norman baron could live ina country like England, inhabited by a race but little above pigs.

  The earl at once fired up at this, for the Normans were now beginning tofeel themselves English, and to resent attacks upon a people for whomtheir grandfathers had entertained contempt.

  He angrily repelled the attack upon them by the Brabant knight, andasserted at once that the Saxons were every bit as civilized, and insome respects superior to the Normans or French.

  The ill-feeling thus began at starting clearly waxed stronger as dinnerwent on. The Brabant knight drank deeply, and although his talk was notclearly directed against the English, yet he continued to throw outinnuendos and side attacks, and to talk with a vague boastfulness, whichgreatly irritated Sir Walter.

  Presently, as Cuthbert was about to serve his master with a cup of wine,the tall page pushed suddenly against him, spilling a portion of thewine over his dress.

  "What a clumsy child!" he said scoffingly.

  "You are a rough and ill-mannered loon," Cuthbert said angrily. "Wereyou in any other presence I would chastise you as you deserve."

  The tall page burst into a mocking laugh.

  "Chastise me!" he said. "Why, I could put you in my pocket for a littlehop-of-my-thumb as you are."

  "I think," said Sir Jacquelin--for the boys' voices both rose loud--tothe earl, "you had better send that brat home and order him to bewhipped."

  "Sir count," said the earl, "your manners are insolent, and were we notengaged upon a Crusade, it would please me much to give you a lesson onthat score."

  Higher and higher the dispute rose, until some angry word caught the earof the king.

  Amid the general buzz of voices King Philip rose, and speaking a wordto King Richard, moved from the table, thus giving the sign for thebreaking up of the feast.

  Immediately afterward a page touched the earl and Sir Jacquelin upon theshoulder, and told them that the kings desired to speak with them in thetent of the King of France.

  The two nobles strode through the crowd, regarding each other with eyesmuch like those of two dogs eager to fly at each other's throat.

  "My lords, my lords," said King Philip when they entered, "this isagainst all law and reason. For shame, to be brawling at my table. Iwould not say aught openly, but methinks it is early indeed for theknights and nobles engaged in a common work to fall to words."

  "Your majesty," said the Earl of Evesham, "I regret deeply what hashappened. But it seemed from the time we sat down to the meal that thislord sought to pass a quarrel upon me, and I now beseech your majestythat you will permit us to settle our differences in the lists."

  King Richard gave a sound of assent, but the King of France shook hishead gravely.

  "Do you forget," he said, "the mission upon which you are assembledhere? Has not every knight and noble in these armies taken a solemn oathto put aside private quarrels and feuds until the holy sepulcher istaken? Shall we at this very going off show that the oath is a mere formof words? Shall we show before the face of Christendom that the knightsof the cross are unable to avoid flying at each other's throats, evenwhile on their way to wrest the holy sepulcher from the infidel? No,sirs, you must lay aside your feuds, and must promise me and my goodbrother here that you will keep the peace between you until this war isover. Whose fault it was that the quarrel began I know not. It may bethat my Lord of Brabant was discourteous. It may be that the earl herewas too hot. But whichever it be, it matters not."

  "The quarrel, sire," said Sir Jacquelin, "arose from a dispute betweenour pages, who were nigh coming to blows in your majesty's presence. Idesired the earl to chide the insolence of his varlet, and instead of sodoing he met my remarks with scorn."

  "Pooh, pooh," said King Richard, "there are plenty of grounds forquarrel without two nobles interfering in the squabbles of boys. Letthem fight; it will harm no one. By the bye, your Majesty," he said,turning to the King of France with a laugh, "if the masters may notfight, there is no reason in the world why the varlets should not. Weare sorely dull for want of amusement. Let us have a list to-morrow, andlet the pages fight it out for the honor of their masters and theirnations."

  "It were scarce worth while to have the lists set for two boys tofight," said the King of France.

  "Oh, we need not have regular lists," said King Richard. "Leave thatmatter in my hands. I warrant you that if the cockerels are wellplucked, they will make us sport. What say you, gentlemen?"

  The Brabant noble at once assented, answering that he was sure that hispage would be glad to enter the lists; and the earl gave a similarassent, for he had not noticed how great was the discrepancy between thesize of the future combatants.

  "That is agreed, then," said King Richard joyously. "I will have a pieceof ground marked out on the edge of the camp to-morrow morning. It shallbe kept by my men-at-arms, and there shall be a raised place for
KingPhilip and myself, who will be the judges of the conflict. Will theyfight on foot or on horse?"

  "On foot, on foot," said the King of France. "It would be a pity thatknightly exercises should be brought to scorn by any failure on theirpart on horseback. On foot at least it will be a fair struggle."

  "What arms shall they use?" the Brabant knight asked.

  "Oh, swords and battle-axes, of course," said King Richard with a laugh.

  "Before you go," King Philip said, "you must shake hands, and swear tolet the quarrel between you drop, at least until after our return. Ifyou still wish to shed each other's blood, I shall offer no hindrancethereto."

  The earl and Count Jacquelin touched each other's hands in obedience tothe order, went out of the tent together, and strode off without a wordin different directions.

  "My dear lad," the Earl of Evesham said on entering his tent where hispage was waiting him, "this is a serious business. The kings haveordered this little count and myself to put aside our differences tillafter the Crusade, in accordance with our oath. But as you have in nowise pledged yourself in the same fashion, and as their majesties feelsomewhat dull while waiting here, it is determined that the quarrelbetween the count and me, and between you and the count's page, shall besettled by a fight between you two in the presence of the kings."

  "Well, sir," Cuthbert said, "I am glad that it should be, seeing thevarlet insulted me without any cause, and purposely upset the cup overme."

  "What is he like?" the earl asked. "Dost think that you are a fairmatch?"

  "I doubt not that we are fair match enough," Cuthbert said. "As youknow, sir, I have been well trained to arms of all kinds, both by myfather and by the men-at-arms at the castle, and could hold my ownagainst any of your men with light weapons, and have then no fear thatthis gawky loon, twenty years old though he seems to be, will bringdisgrace upon me or discredit upon my nation."

  "If thou thinkest so," the earl said, "the matter can go on. But had itbeen otherwise I would have gone to the king and protested that theadvantage of age was so great that it would be murder to place you inthe lists together."

  "There is," Cuthbert said, "at most no greater difference between usthan between a strong man and a weak one, and these, in the ordeal ofbattle, have to meet in the lists. Indeed I doubt if the difference isso great, for if he be a foot taller than I, methinks that round theshoulders I should have the advantage of him."

  "Send hither my armorer," the earl said; "we must choose a proper suitfor you. I fear that mine would be of little use; but doubtless thereare some smaller suits among my friends."

  "The simpler and lighter the better," Cuthbert said. "I'd rather have alight coat of mail and a steel cap than heavy armor and a helmet whichwould press me down, and a visor through which I could scarce see. Thelighter the better, for after all if my sword cannot keep my head,sooner or later the armor would fail to do so too."

  The armorer speedily arrived, and the knights and followers of the earlbeing called in and the case stated, there was soon found a coat of finelinked mail, which fitted Cuthbert well. As to the steel cap there wasno difficulty whatever.

  "You must have a plume at least," the earl said, and took some feathersfrom his own casque and fastened them in. "Will you want a light swordand battle-ax?"

  "No," Cuthbert said, "my arms are pretty well used to those of themen-at-arms. I could wield my father's sword, and that was a heavyone."

  The lightest of the earl's weapons were chosen, and it was agreed thatall was now ready for the conflict to-morrow.

  In the morning there was a slight bustle in the camp.

  The news that a fight was to take place between an English and a Brabantpage, by the permission of the kings of England and France, that theirmajesties were to be present, and that all was to be conducted onregular rules, caused a stir of excitement and novelty in the camp.

  Nowhere is life duller than among a large body of men kept together forany time under canvas, and the thought of a combat of this novel kindexcited general interest.

  In a meadow at a short distance from the camp a body of King Richard'smen-at-arms marked off an oval space of about an acre. Upon one side ofthis a tent was pitched for the kings, and a small tent was placed ateach end for the combatants. Round the inclosure the men-at-arms formedthe ring, and behind them a dense body of spectators gathered, a placebeing set aside for nobles, and others of gentle blood.

  At the hour fixed the kings of England and France arrived together. KingRichard was evidently in a state of high good humor, for he preferredthe clash of arms and the sight of combat to any other pleasure.

  The King of France, on the other hand, looked grave. He was a far wiserand more politic king than Richard; and although he had consented tothe sudden proposal, yet he felt in his heart that the contest was afoolish one, and that it might create bad feeling among the men of thetwo nationalities whichever way it went. He had reserved to himself theright of throwing down the baton when the combat was to cease, and hedetermined to avail himself of this right to put a stop to the conflictbefore either party was likely to sustain any deadly injury.

  When the monarchs had taken their places the trumpeters sounded theirtrumpets, and the two combatants advanced on foot from their ends of thelists. A murmur of surprise and dissatisfaction broke from the crowd."My Lord of Evesham," the king said angrily to the earl, who with CountJacquelin was standing by the royal party, "thou shouldst have said thatthe difference between the two was too great to allow the combat to bepossible. The Frenchman appears to be big enough to take your page underhis arm and walk off with him."

  The difference was indeed very striking. The French champion was arrayedin a full suit of knightly armor--of course without the gold spurs whichwere the distinguishing mark of that rank--and with his helmet and loftyplume of feathers he appeared to tower above Cuthbert, who, in hisclose-fitting steel cap and link armor seemed a very dwarf by the sideof a giant.

  "It is not size, sire, but muscle and pluck will win in a combat likethis. Your majesty need not be afraid that my page will disgrace me. Heis of my blood, though the kinship is not close. He is of mixed Saxonand Norman strain, and will, believe me, do no discredit to either."

  The king's brow cleared, for in truth he was very proud of his Englishnationality, and would have been sorely vexed to see the discomfiture ofan English champion, even though that champion were a boy.

  "Brother Philip," he said, turning to the king, "I will wager my goldchain against yours on yonder stripling."

  "Methinks that it were robbery to take your wager," the King of Francesaid. "The difference between their bulk is disproportionate. However, Iwill not balk your wish. My chain against yours."

  The rule of the fight was that they were to commence with swords, butthat either could, if he chose, use his battle-ax.

  The fight need scarcely be described at length, for the advantage wasall one way. Cuthbert was fully a match in strength for his antagonist,although standing nigh a foot shorter. Constant exercise, however, hadhardened his muscles into something like steel, while the teaching thathe had received had embraced all what was then known of the use of arms.

  Science in those days there was but little of; it was a case rather ofhard, heavy hitting, than of what we now call swordsmanship.

  With the sword Cuthbert gained but slight advantage over his adversary,whose superior height enabled him to rain blows down upon the lad, whichhe was with difficulty enabled to guard; but when the first paroxysm ofhis adversary's attack had passed he took to the offensive, and drovehis opponent back step by step. With his sword, however, he was unableto cut through the armor of the Frenchman, but in the course of theencounter, guarding a severe blow aimed at him, his sword was struckfrom his hand, and he then, seizing his ax, made such play with it thathis foe dropped his own sword and took to the same weapon.

  In this the superior height and weight of his opponent gave him even agreater advantage than with the sword, and Cuthbert knowi
ng this, usedhis utmost dexterity and speed to avoid the sweeping blows showered uponhim. He himself had been enabled to strike one or two sweeping strokes,always aiming at the same place, the juncture of the visor with thehelmet. At last the Frenchman struck him so heavy a blow that it beatdown his guard and struck his steel cap from his head, bringing him tothe knee. In an instant he was up, and before his foe could be again onguard, he whirled his ax round with all its force, and bringing it justat the point of the visor which he had already weakened with repeatedblows, the edge of the ax stove clean through the armor, and the pagewas struck senseless to the ground.

  A great shout broke from the English portion of the soldiery asCuthbert leaned over his prostrate foe, and receiving no answer to thequestion "Do you yield?" rose to his feet, and signified to the squirewho had kept near that his opponent was insensible.

  King Richard ordered the pursuivant to lead Cuthbert to the royalinclosure.

  "Thou art a brave lad and a lusty," the king said, "and hast borne theein the fight as well as many a knight would have done. Wert thou older,I would myself dub thee knight; and I doubt not that the occasion willyet come when thou wilt do as good deeds upon the bodies of the Saracensas thou hast upon that long-shanked opponent of thine. Here is a goldchain; take it as a proof that the King of England holds that you havesustained well the honor of his country; and mark me, if at any time yourequire a boon, bring or send me that chain, and thou shalt have itfreely. Sir Walter," he said, turning to the earl, "in this lad thouhast a worthy champion, and I trust me that thou wilt give him everychance of distinguishing himself. So soon as thou thinkest him fit forthe knightly rank I myself will administer the accolade."