Charles, the noble king of Sicily and Jerusalem, when he was Count of
Anjou, loved deeply the fair Countess of Teti, who in her turn loved
the Count of Nevers. [110]
At that time the King of France[110] had forbidden all tourneying under
pain of death.
The Count of Anjou, wishing to put it to the proof whether he or the
Count of Nevers were more valiant in arms, took thought, and went most
beseechfully to Messer Alardo de’ Valleri and told him of his love,
saying that he had set his heart on measuring himself with the Count of
Nevers, and he begged him by the love he bore him to obtain leave of
the King that one sole tourney might be held with his licence. The
other sought a pretext.
The Count of Anjou showed him the way. The King is almost a bigot, he
said, and because of the great goodness of your nature, he hopes to
induce you to put on the habit of a religious, that he may have your
company. Therefore in putting this question, let it be asked as a boon,
that he allow you to hold a tournament. And you will do whatever he
wishes.
And Messer Alardo replied: now tell me, Count, shall I give up all my
knightly company for a tourney?
And the Count replied: I promise you loyally that I will release you
from your pledge. And so he did, as I shall tell you later.
Messer Alardo went off to the King of France and said: Sire, when I
took arms on the day of your coronation, then all the best knights of
the world did bear arms; wherefore, since for love of you, I wish by
all means to leave the world, and to don the religious habit, so let it
please you to grant me a boon, that a tournament may be held in which
all noble knights bear arms, so that I may forsake my arms in as great
a feast as that in which I took them up.
Thereupon, the King gave the leave.
A tournament was ordered.
On one side, was the Count of Nevers, and on the other side was the
Count of Anjou. The Queen with countesses, ladies and damsels of high
lineage were in the tribunes, and the Countess of Teti was with them.
On that day the flower of knighthood was in arms from one end of the
world to the other. After much tourneying, the Count of Anjou and he of
Nevers had the field cleared [111], and moved against one another with
all the force of their weighty chargers and with great lances in their
hands.
Now it chanced that in the midst of the field the steed of the Count of
Nevers fell with the Count all in a heap, and the ladies descended from
the tribunes, and bore him in their arms most tenderly.
And the Countess of Teti was with them.
The Count of Anjou lamented loudly, saying, alas! why did not my horse
fall like that of the Count of Nevers, so that the Countess might have
been as close to me as she was to him?
When the tourney was ended, the Count of Anjou went to the Queen, and
begged of her a grace: that for love of the noble knights of France she
would make a show of being angry with the King, and when they made
peace, she would ask him for a boon, and the boon should be this: that
it should be the King’s pleasure that the youthful knights of France
should not lose so noble a companion as Messer Alardo de’ Valleri.
The Queen did as he said.
She feigned anger with the king, and when they made peace, she asked
him for her wish.
And the King promised her a boon.
And Messer Alardo was set free of his promise, and remained with the
other noble knights tourneying and performing feats of arms, so that
his fame spread throughout the world for his great skill and his most
wonderful prowess.