_THE FEUDAL CASTLE._
In the year 1180, the valley had again become a fertile and prosperous
district. Several villages had arisen along the course of the river; and
a town of some importance covered, as in former times, the western
slopes of the old cité Juliana, and extended on the opposite shore. This
town was then called Saint Julien. How was it that the cité founded by
the Emperor Julian the Apostate had changed its appellation of Juliana
for that of Saint Julien? We shall not attempt to explain the fact. It
will suffice to say, that about the eighth century a legend arose
respecting a companion of Lucian, Bishop of Beauvais, named Julian, a
native of the Val d'Abonia, who had been martyred with Maximian a short
time before his holy bishop. His body, transferred to the place of his
birth, had there wrought numerous miracles, and was then resting in the
crypt of the church placed under his invocation, and which was the
appanage of a rich abbey, situated at the northern extremity of the
plateau. On the site in question, therefore, was to be found the city
and abbey of Saint Julien, and the castle of Roche-Pont, occupied by the
lords of Roche-Pont. As for the valley, it had preserved pretty nearly
its old name; it was the Val d'Abonia. Ever since the ninth century the
lords of Roche-Pont had been possessors of the vale, the town, the lands
contiguous, and the forests stretching northwards on the plateaux; they
claimed descent by the female side from the ancient kings of Burgundy,
and were rich and powerful. One of their ancestors engaged in a war
against King Robert, in the year 1005, and had contributed greatly to
the failure of that prince's expedition into Burgundy. On the submission
of this province at a later date to the king, the lord of Roche-Pont had
made conditions that had notably improved his domain. This lord was the
founder of the Clunisian abbey which stood on the north of the plateau;
he had endowed it with the uncultivated lands of the rivulet valley. The
monks soon made a capital domain of this valley, by taking advantage of
the little water-course, which never failed. With the aid of dams they
secured very productive pools; waterfalls turned mills, worked forges,
and irrigated fair meadows for flocks and herds, and, on the slope of
southern aspect, vineyards renowned for their fine produce.
There were occasional misunderstandings between the abbots of Saint
Julien and the lords of Roche-Pont. According to their foundation
charter, they claimed to be perfectly independent of the lordship of
Roche-Pont--indeed, of all superiority but that of Rome--and to have
complete suzerainty over the lands they possessed; they refused to
render feudal dues to the castle, and on several occasions disputes
resulted in acts of violence. Then the abbots appealed to the Duke of
Burgundy; men of war interfered in the contest; and, as a matter of
course, the vassals had to pay the costs.
One of the abbots, a restless and ambitious man, had presumed to
commence fortifying the abbey, and had persisted in doing so in spite of
the opposition of the lord of Roche-Pont. The lord had consequently laid
waste the abbey domain. The fraternity then appealed to the king of
France, who had intervened in the dispute. After much litigation and
cost to both sides, it had been decided that the abbey might be
surrounded by a wall without towers, and that in the event of a war in
which the interests of the suzerain were concerned, the lord of
Roche-Pont should garrison the abbey at the expense of the latter.
The retainers of the abbey and those of the lord continued,
nevertheless, in a permanent state of antagonism; and not a year passed
in which there were not differences to be settled on this score at the
court of the duke.
The castle of the lords of Roche-Pont was built on the remains of the
_castellum_ of the cité Juliana, and about the year 1182 it was very old
and dilapidated.
Anseric de la Roche-Pont was at that time its owner. He was a young man
of ardent temperament and ambitious disposition, married to a niece of
the Count of Nevers, deceased in 1176--an alliance which had increased
his possessions. He bore with impatience his subjection to the Duke of
Burgundy, and in endeavouring to shake it off, his first step was to
rebuild his old castle, and put it in a condition to defy every attack.
Anseric de la Roche-Pont was encouraged in these ideas of independence
by one of his uncles, an old seigneur, who, having spent fifteen years
of fighting in Syria, had returned, worn out and impoverished, to
Burgundy. Anseric had given him an asylum in his declining years, and he
soon acquired an influence over the mind of his nephew, and even of his
niece. During the long winter evenings, the recital of adventures beyond
seas, to which the Baron Guy knew how to give a life-like interest,
would inflame the breast of the young lord. Often on such occasions the
latter would rise and pace the hall, with sparkling eyes and clenched
hands, stung with shame at his own inactivity, and consumed by the
desire of some nobler occupation than killing boars, and disputing with
monks concerning mill or fishery rights. At such moments the old baron,
far from seeking to calm his nephew's ardour, would seek to direct it to
a more attainable end than the conquest of towns in Syria. The Baron Guy
was a personage of remarkable idiosyncrasy--physically an elderly man,
tall and angular, and somewhat bent by the weight of arms: his head,
still covered with rough grey locks, square in the crown, exhibiting
projecting cheek-bones, and--beneath shaggy eyebrows--eyes of sombre
green, deeply sunk in their orbits. His wide mouth with its thin lips
showed, when he laughed--which rarely happened--rows of sharp white
teeth. When he was relating long stories, seated, his hands on his knees
and his head bent down, the light of the wax tapers fell only on his
bushy hair, his high cheek-bones, and nose. Sometimes, at exciting
passages in the recital, his head would slowly rise and, still in shade,
his eyes would send forth flashes which reminded one of distant
lightning.
Morally, the Baron Guy is not so easily described. He hated monks--but
that is neither here nor there--and adored children; which is proof of a
happily constituted disposition. But the baron had seen so much of men
and things that it is not to be wondered at that there existed in his
mind a shade of scepticism, if such a term can be applied to the
_désenchantement_ of a noble at the end of the twelfth century. The
baron had, we say, acquired a marked influence over the mind of his
nephew; but to Anseric's two children their great-uncle was as indulgent
as possible. He was no less complaisant to his niece; she alone could
succeed in lighting up that stern visage with a ray of cheerfulness.
The very high and noble dame Jeanne Eleanor de la Roche-Pont was a
woman of middle height. When animated, her somewhat oval face reflected
a lively intelligence; her eyes of light azure then assumed the hue of
the _lapis-lazuli_, and her complexion, habitually pale, was suffused
with a rosy flush. She had a bewitching smile, though her mouth was
slightly drooping; her swan-like neck, and the exquisite contour of her
figure, lent to all her movements a perfect grace, rendered still more
charming by an address and vivacity which was the delight of the old
baron.
The baron, therefore, would pass whole hours with his eyes fixed on his
niece, as if he wished to study the least gestures of the Lady de la
Roche-Pont, and discover the marvellous mechanism in which their grace
and beauty originated. High-spirited on occasions, Eleanor was capable
of the greatest devotion and absolute self-sacrifice for those dear to
her. Her vassals loved her, and used to call her _la Gentil-Dame_.
It has seemed necessary to describe at some length persons who will play
an important part in the course of this narrative. Events were, in fact,
more ruled by the individual in feudal times than during any other
period. The personal character of a noble exercised a preponderating
influence around him for good or evil.
The Baron Guy, worn out, impoverished, and childless, was essentially
one of those sensitive spirits, bruised by contact with men and events,
which, having lost all elasticity where their own interests are
concerned, direct their entire energy and their need of something to
which to attach themselves, towards an object apparently distant or
fragile. The baron had certainly an affection for his nephew; but as far
as he alone was concerned, he would, have contented himself with leaving
him to hunt peacefully on his domains, and helping him at need; but for
his niece and her two children--handsome boys of five and eight years
old respectively--he had a love amounting to adoration, and which formed
the chief interest of his life. To him it seemed that for beings so dear
in his eyes the castle de la Roche-Pont and its domain were a very
pitiful heritage; and we may question whether even the duchy of Burgundy
would have appeared to him worthy of their acceptance.
Ambitions of this _indirect_ character, as they may be called, are the
most insatiable and tenacious; they are of the kind stimulating to the
most daring enterprises, because they are disinterested and
irresponsible.
When the Baron Guy spoke of the fortresses built by the Franks in
Palestine and Syria, he never failed to enumerate their towers, to
describe their lofty walls, their fair and strong defences; and,
invariably instituting a comparison between the wonderful fortresses of
Margat, Krak, Antarseus, Laodicea, Antioch, Ascalon, Giblet, and many
others, and the castle de la Roche-Pont, he exhibited the latter as a
mere hovel fit only for serfs to hide their heads in.
When the baron's discourse took this turn--and it frequently
did--Anseric's face clouded over. Eleanor looked down, blushed, and went
to look for the children.
One evening, as the baron had been complaisantly expatiating on the
advantageous site and solid construction of the castle of Krak, which he
had seen commenced shortly before his departure from Syria, and which
was to exceed in extent and strength the other Christian fortresses,
Anseric suddenly interrupted the recital. "Uncle," said he, "the
position of the castle de la Roche-Pont appears to me as good as that of
the knights beyond sea; and if it is only a question of making more
solid towers and higher walls than ours are, the thing is easy:--what do
you say to it?" The baron did not raise his head. "Yes," he replied,
"but you must resolve upon it." "Well, if I did resolve upon it?"
"Perhaps you might, my good nephew; but he who builds a strong castle
must expect to see it attacked." "Well, what then?" "Why, you will have
to defend it, my good nephew." "And have we not men and ourselves?"
"Yes, we shall indeed want men--men accustomed to fighting; and we shall
want arms and mangonels; moreover, the work must be done quickly if you
would avoid an attack before it is finished; and remember the duke's
court is not far off, and he will perhaps be curious to come and see for
himself what the Sire de la Roche-Pont is about." "The duke! the duke!
what business has the duke to inquire whether I am rebuilding my castle?
It is my affair, not his!" "The monks of the abbey, too, they will go
and complain to my lord duke (though he shows no great deference for
these white, black, or grey habits), and will persuade him that in
building a stronger castle your object is to lay hands more readily on
the wealth of the Church; whereas the duke prefers to keep the convent
treasures for himself." "As to the monks," said Eleanor, "you need be
under no anxiety about them; leave the matter in my hands, and I engage
that they shall give you no trouble." "Eh! what what will you do, _belle
amie_?" replied Anseric. "Will you let me act as I think best?" "By all
means; as you please, _belle amie_."
It must be observed that Eleanor--as a wife and a lady of high
descent--entered into the baron's views, though without letting it
appear that she did so; and her most cherished desire was to leave to
her firstborn the finest domain in the province. As allied to the house
of Nevers, she had no liking for the duke; and the feudal bonds which
connected her domain with the duchy of Burgundy were perhaps a greater
annoyance to her than to her husband.
Next day Eleanor sent for the abbot, under the pretext of having
something of importance to communicate to him. The abbot was a little
man of pale complexion, with sharp black eyes, and always elegantly
attired, as far as was permitted by the order of Cluny, which in point
of costume was then very tolerant. He came to the castle on a handsome
mule, richly caparisoned, followed by two monks, also mounted. Wine and
sweetmeats were offered them on their arrival, and when the abbot was in
Eleanor's presence, she spoke thus to him: "Sir abbot, you are aware in
what veneration I hold your sacred abbey, and how much I desire to add
something to its splendour; if my lord and myself have not done so
hitherto, it is because we have been waiting for a favourable
opportunity. My lord and myself are happy that such an opportunity
presents itself while you are ruling the abbey, because we have a
particular and profound esteem for you personally. While, then, what we
propose to do has for its object the securing to ourselves the more
especial protection of the holy apostles, Peter and Paul, it is also
prompted by consideration for your own virtues and wise administration.
"Our castle is very old and ruinous; my lord is intending to have it
repaired; and to draw down upon its walls the benediction of heaven, he
thinks of building within its inclosure a handsome chapel, which will be
served by your fraternity as you shall direct, and which will
consequently be dependent on the abbey. An annual revenue of a hundred
livres will be devoted to the maintenance of the chapel, to be raised
from our estate of Try. Moreover, your dependency of Vieil-Bois is
unsightly and dilapidated; my lord wishes to have it rebuilt, and to
assign for its support, which is at present insufficient, twenty-five
days' labour in such vineyards of our domain as are near that
dependency."
At each of these announcements the abbot bent his head in courteous
submission. "Lady," replied he, "the abbey of Saint Julien, founded by
one of my lord's ancestors, will be delighted by the new donations you
graciously promise. Though it has witnessed with sorrow the differences
that have sometimes arisen between the lords of Roche-Pont and its
abbots, it has never ceased to address prayers to God, to the Blessed
Virgin, and the holy apostles Peter and Paul, for the illustrious house
of its founders; and in the words that have proceeded to-day from your
gracious mouth, what it will appreciate beyond the announcement of your
intended gifts, is the assurance that its privileges and its
independence will receive fresh guarantees of that protection which was
accorded to it in the past."
"Assuredly," replied Eleanor; "we shall take care that no harm is done
you or your vassals; and, the charter we shall give you will expressly
mention our desire to respect the immunities of the abbey, and if need
be, to enforce that respect on others. Moreover, sir abbot, you are not
ignorant that in these unhappy times the property of the Church is not
always respected, even by those who ought to defend them. You know the
trials the abbey of Vezelay has experienced: it is our intention to
shelter the cloister of Saint Julien from these insults; and there is no
surer means of protecting your abbey than putting the castle in a state
of defence."
On his way back, the abbot asked himself what could be the cause of this
new turn in affairs. He re-entered the monastery, however, none the less
gratified; and after vespers a _Te Deum_ was sung.
"To-morrow, my dear lord," said Eleanor to her husband, when all met at
supper, "you may set about rebuilding your castle; the abbot of Saint
Julien will not feel himself aggrieved." "A good fairy has intervened,
no doubt," said the Baron Guy; "we are bound to proceed." "By the bodies
of the saints!" said Anseric, when he learned the conditions by which
the abbot's acquiescence was to be secured, "you propose to build so
much for the Church, _belle amie_, that there will remain nothing for
the castle!" "In good sooth," replied the baron, "I am not so very well
pleased that these monks should get a footing among us." "Pshaw! we will
put the chapel in the bailey;[17] and if we have to defend the castle,
the monks will remain outside." "But why, sir uncle, are you always so
severe upon the good monks?" "Ah! gentle fairy, if you had seen them, as
I have, in lands beyond the sea, you would agree with me that it is the
worst breed----" "Come, do not blaspheme, sir uncle; here we are in a
Christian land--not among the Saracens."
A few days afterwards, in fact, Anseric set the labourers to work. The
burgh and the villages of the domain had to furnish their contingent in
men, and in draught cattle and carts; materials were not wanting in the
vicinity. Kilns were erected for burning lime, and the forest supplied
timber in abundance. Baron Guy, in virtue of his military knowledge,
undertook the office of director. He sent secretly for a master of the
works--a native of Troyes, whom he had known in Palestine. This person
was kindly received at the castle, was well provided for and newly
clothed, but carefully watched, lest he should take it into his head to
run away. The plans of the new castle were devised by himself and the
baron. Use was made of a part of the Roman fortifications which still
existed. But the reader must know the position of the buildings then
occupying the plateau (Fig. 35) to understand what is to follow.
[Illustration: FIG. 35.--THE OLD CASTLE DE LA ROCHE-PONT.]
At A was the castle of la Roche-Pont, erected on the Roman remains, and
composed of irregular buildings out of repair; at B the cloister of the
abbey; and at C its church: at D the abbot's building.
The monastery was bounded on the west by the ruins of the ancient Roman
enclosure, and on the other three sides by battlemented walls, with a
few turrets.
At E was the pleasance of the abbey; at F that of the castle.[18] Two
fine mills, dependencies of the castle, stood at G; and at H was the
pond, filled by the pent water of the stream.
The upper town, built on the western incline of the plateau, contained
two parish churches, I and K. A wooden bridge, with mills belonging to
the castle, existed at L, another wooden bridge at M, and the Roman
stone bridge at N.
On the right bank were several houses with gardens. At O the road along
the plateau branched into two--one leading to the entrance of the abbey,
the other to that of the castle. At P was a breadth of cultivated land,
and at R the forest, which extended in a northerly direction more than
two thousand paces. Of the ancient ramping wall of the Romans, S, and of
the enclosure, T, there existed only heaps of _débris_. These remains,
overgrown with vegetation, formed, nevertheless, an elevation which it
was possible to defend.
This sketch of the general topography premised, we proceed to explain
the dispositions adopted in the building of the new castle (Fig.
36).[19] At O existed a fosse, which was re-excavated. A barbican
stood at A, entered on the left side.
[Illustration: FIG. 36
THE CASTLE OF LA ROCHE PONT. 12TH CENTURY.]
The main entrance of the castle, with its drawbridge, was necessarily
placed at B. This gate had to be protected by two towers. Upon a part of
the ancient Roman north front, five towers were planned, whose curtains
were to join the two ancient towers, Y, which were repaired and
re-crowned. A wide space, C, therefore necessarily remained behind this
foremost defence. It was the _bailey_, a fore-court or outer-court, in
which were laid out the chapel, E, promised to the abbot; stables, D;
and outbuildings, F, upon a Roman ruin. At P was sunk a second fosse for
the protection of the castle, whose gateway was disposed at G. A postern
gave egress at H. The ancient Roman wall, M, received a new crowning,
and three new towers were to add to its strength.
At I were laid the foundations of the donjon--partly on ancient
masonry--a donjon defended by a chemise and ditch. The buildings
designed for habitation were situated at K, with a chapel at I. At the
extremities of the ditch, P, cuttings were contrived in the two Roman
curtains, to intercept, if necessary, all communication between the
defences of the bailey and those of the castle. This contrivance was
also adopted for the two curtains abutting on the donjon.
The baron spent his whole time, ever since the decision come to by his
nephew, with the master of the works, Alain of Troyes; while the workmen
first called in cleared the ground and levelled the Roman ruins, and
quantities of stone, sand, gravel, and timber were brought in, and the
ditches and trenches for the foundations were excavated by the forced
labour of the tenants.
The baron designed to erect opposite the plateau (the point of attack) a
great front, slightly convex, to screen the projections, W. He wished
to have a wide barbican in the middle of this front, in which to collect
the troops intended for sorties, and to shelter them in case of retreat.
He had observed that in all the good defences erected by the Christians
in Syria the entrances were so disposed that the assailant was obliged
to present his right flank to the defender--with good reason, since the
left is protected by the shield or buckler. The position of the gate, C,
of the castle had been the subject of considerable study and discussion
on the part of the baron and his master of works. The latter wanted to
place it parallel with the front, but the baron insisted on its forming
a decided angle with the entrance of the bailey. The master of the works
urged that the left-hand tower of this gate, G, would then form a
projection insufficiently defended, and open to attack; but the baron
maintained that if the besiegers endeavoured to attack or mine this
tower, they would be commanded obliquely by the tower, R; that by giving
sinuosities to this front of the castle all points of the bailey would
be commanded; that the principal gate was thus well masked; that nothing
more would be needed than to give a considerable thickness to the walls
and a greater diameter to the entrance towers; and lastly, if the enemy
succeeded in reducing the projecting tower on the right hand, a
barricade might still be raised from S to T, and the defence prolonged,
with the favourable consideration that if this tower of the salient were
thrown down, the other would remain intact and would command the breach.
The postern, H, was also the subject of lengthened consideration on both
sides. This postern was necessary to secure the provisioning of the
castle without encumbering the main entrance. Placed near the angle
tower, U, which the enemy could not attack because of the steep
escarpment of the plateau, the postern was well protected by that
tower; moreover it was to be surmounted by a quadrangular work with
double portcullis and double doors; lastly, a _braie_,[20] X, defended
its approach. It was agreed, moreover, that the great central habitable
part of the castle, erected on the remains of the square Roman towers,
should be crenelated, and should command the curtain, and consequently
the two entrances. Wells existed or were sunk at _p_.
Every part having been thus carefully determined, the works were
vigorously prosecuted. The baron was always at hand, and persisted in
seeing everything for himself. The north front of the bailey, and the
chapel, E, were first begun. This exterior work did not greatly alter
the appearance of things; but the donjon was next commenced. And when
this tower, whose diameter was ninety feet, had reached an elevation of
thirty, its aspect had become formidable. The townspeople viewed from a
distance this huge mass rising on the point of the plateau, and began to
wonder what their lord was intending to do with such an enormous tower.
The abbot was somewhat disquieted; but he was so handsomely entertained
at the castle that he gave no sign of dissatisfaction, especially as the
great chapel of the bailey promised to be very beautiful.
Fortunately for Anseric, the Duke of Burgundy had at that time some
rather important matters in hand--a misunderstanding with the King of
France. Philip Augustus gave him considerable uneasiness, and at such a
time he did not wish to alienate his nobility. More than two years thus
passed without anything of serious consequence occurring to the lord of
the castle. By that time the building was very nearly finished. We give
a bird's-eye view of it (Fig. 37), taken from the north-east angle.
[Illustration: FIG. 37.--BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE CASTLE OF LA
ROCHE-PONT.]
Nothing was talked of throughout the province but the beauty and
strength of the new castle of Roche-Pont, and there were men of family
in the neighbourhood, envious of the wealth and connections of Anseric,
who did their best to represent him to the duke as an ambitious person,
impatient of the feudal ties which bound him to his suzerain. It was
even insinuated that the Sieur de la Roche-Pont, on the strength of his
descent, aimed at nothing less than supplanting the duke; and that he
had already begun to intrigue for that object with the king of France
and with Pierre de Courtenai, who had married Agnes, sister of the last
Count of Nevers and aunt of Eleanor; that his tenants were crushed under
the burden of forced labours; and that the duke ought not to allow one
of his vassals to oppress the poor people thus, in order to erect a
castle surpassed in strength by none in Burgundy.
As only too frequently happens, malevolence was thus suggesting to
Anseric the course he should pursue to fulfil his ambitious designs.
The Duke of Burgundy (Hugh III.) was anything but a protector of
ecclesiastical property. The abbot of Saint Julien knew this; so that,
although he was troubled in mind by the defensive preparations of the
lord of Roche-Pont, and augured no good to the abbey from the vicinity
of so strong a castle, he did not dare to manifest his fears, or
endeavour to communicate them to the ducal court; for he was perhaps
more afraid of the duke's intervention than of the power of his
immediate neighbour.
At length Hugh was moved, and lent an ear to all that was reported
concerning the character and intentions of his vassal. An opportunity
soon offered of revealing his real intentions. While Anseric had enemies
and enviers at the ducal court, he had also some friends; and they did
not fail to inform him of the sinister impressions produced in the
duke's mind respecting him, and which he took no trouble to conceal. He
had been heard to say that he would soon go and try whether the fortress
of La Roche-Pont was as strong as was asserted. Prudence was not the
duke's forte, any more than reticence. He had sent a body of his
men-at-arms to examine matters closely. Now, the duke's men-at-arms had
acquired the habits of their master; they were great robbers and
plunderers. Whether they acquitted themselves of their mission I cannot
say; but certain it is that they plundered some hamlets and set fire to
several granges belonging to the abbey of Saint Julien.
The monks were greatly disquieted, and did not fail to complain to the
lord of Roche-Pont.
The fief of Roche-Pont lay under the obligation to send every year to
the Duke of Burgundy, as its feudal dues, six war horses caparisoned. It
was the custom of the lord of Roche-Pont on this occasion to present
himself at the ducal court after Easter. The current year was 1185.
Anseric did not appear at court, and did not send the six horses. Hugh
demanded them; Anseric replied that the duke's men, plunderers and
brigands as they were, had themselves taken off the horses that were
destined for him; and that it was their place to give them up to their
master; that as for himself and the abbot of Saint Julien, they claimed
compensation for damages, and demanded that the plunderers should be
hanged on the public gallows. Moreover, that he, Anseric, was aware that
the Duke of Burgundy lent an ear to the malevolent insinuations of the
enemies of Roche-Pont, and he would choose his own time for giving them
the lie.
At this haughty answer Hugh's anger was roused, and he swore that he
would take no rest till the castle of Roche-Pont was razed to the
ground, should it cost him a fourth of his dukedom.
Baron Guy had observed the storm increasing not without a secret joy;
but though he liked fighting, and cherished an unbounded ambition, he
was a prudent man, and one who--like all who had long sojourned in the
East--knew how to intrigue and to secure the favour of circumstances.
Most of those old knights of Syria joined the character of the
diplomatist to that of soldier, in consequence of their relations with
the court of Constantinople and the Saracens.
After Anseric's reply, there was no alternative but to prepare for war,
and war _à outrance_. But, however strong the place might be, Baron Guy
knew well that every besieged fortress must, in the end, fall into the
besieger's hands, if it is not relieved. Anseric had no army to bring
into the open field against the duke's; he could assemble two hundred
and fifty men-at-arms--which would imply a total of about twelve hundred
fighting men, as each man-at-arms was accompanied by three or four
fighting men. Adding to this body the men in the town who owed service
to the lord, a garrison of fifteen to eighteen hundred men might be
reckoned upon.
Baron Guy had therefore a long conference with Eleanor and Anseric the
evening after the answer had been sent to the duke; when it was resolved
that the Lady de la Roche-Pont, with a sufficient retinue, should repair
to the court of the king of France, promising him liege-homage for the
lordship of Roche-Pont; and asking help from him against the Duke of
Burgundy, who was devastating the lands of his vassal, and plundering
the estates of the abbey of Saint Julien without cause or reason. Baron
Guy had some motives for believing that these overtures would be
favourably received; but he refrained from saying all he knew about the
matter. He advised his niece to take the abbot in her train, if
possible, or, at any rate, some of the fraternity, authorised by him.
Dame Eleanor undertook the commission without making the least
objection, and, with apparent calmness, though her heart was ready to
burst under her slender corset.
She employed the night with her women in making preparations for her
journey, and early in the morning sent for the abbot. The abbot, who
foresaw but too clearly--whatever might happen--the devastation of the
abbey domains, gave vent to repeated sighs, protested, and denounced the
barbarity of the times, but came to no resolution. "Sir abbot," said
Eleanor to him, at length, "with or without you or your monks I am going
to set out this morning; would you rather plead your cause yourself, or
have it pleaded by a woman?" "Ah! most gracious lady," replied the
abbot, "can I quit my flock when the wolf is preparing to devour it?"
"Well, then, give me three of your monks." "Yes, you are right--it must
be--it must be." "Let them be here on horseback in an hour." "Yes, noble
lady, they shall be here, under the protection of God and the Holy
Virgin!" "But, before all things, sir abbot, not a word about this
journey, and do not let the brotherhood know where I am taking them."
"Yes, certainly; the fraternity are to understand that they are sent to
some dependency or some neighbouring abbey." "Very good, but make
haste!" Dame Eleanor, weeping, embraced her children, her husband and
uncle; but, drying her tears as she mounted her palfrey, she presented
herself to her small retinue with a calm countenance. "Fair niece," said
Baron Guy to her, just as she was waiting on the horse-block, "the duke
will certainly do his utmost to be here as quickly as he can. He might
possibly arrive before your return. If it should be so, proceed with
caution, conceal yourself and your train at the vavasor's,--Pierre
Landry's--two leagues hence, in the valley; he will be informed of your
intention, look out for your return, and give me news of you. Then we
shall see what can be done."
The Lady de la Roche-Pont's train consisted of a dozen trusty men,
retainers of the castle, commanded by a veteran knight of prudence and
experience, with two women and the three monks. The party was supposed
by the servants at the castle, to be making a visit to the Lady de
Courtenai, Eleanor's aunt.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 17: Outer court.]
[Footnote 18: "The pleasance" was a garden, planted with fruit trees and
groves, which served for a place of promenade, and for divers outdoor
pastimes.]
[Footnote 19: In this figure the black tint indicates the Roman
substructions preserved and surmounted by new works; the yellow the
Roman buildings entirely razed; the red the defences added by the lord
of La Roche-Pont; and the grey the domestic buildings rebuilt or
repaired.]
[Footnote 20: An outer wall of no great height.]