TIRANT JOINS THE EXPEDITION OF THE KING OF FRANCE
AGAINST THE INFIDELS
In the letter which was brought by the ambassadors, the King of France
announced that he was going to make war against the infidels, and asked
the King of Sicily to join him in the holy enterprise. The latter,
accordingly, after the festivities connected with the marriage were
over, fitted out two galleys and four other vessels and placed them
under the command of Philip. (Chap. 112)
The fleets of the kings of France, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, Portugal,
and Sicily, and those of the Pope and of the Emperor, all met at the
island of Corsica. Tirant joined the expedition in a galley of his
own, for he wished to have a free hand. The united fleet set sail,
and one morning at dawn it arrived before the large city of Tripoli
in Syria. Tirant went before the French king and made the vow that he
would be the first to step on land and the last one to return on board.
Among the knights there were many who were envious of Tirant, and they
were eager to make him break his vow. When the men from the different
vessels were about to land, Tirant gave orders to his mariners to drive
the galley at full speed until it struck ground. He stood in the bow
of the vessel all armed, and the moment it touched land he jumped into
the water. The Moors immediately rushed upon him, but Diaphebus and
others quickly gathered about him and drove them back. The Christians
were able to enter the city, but they found the enemy there in such
large numbers that they were obliged to return to their ships. Tirant
and another valiant knight, Ricart lo Venturos, were the last ones to
embark. They had a lively dispute as to who should be the very last.
Finally, Ricart consented to embark before Tirant, if the latter should
put his foot on the ladder first. And in this way Tirant fulfilled his
vow, for which he was highly honored. Ricart, however, was angry and
sullen, and challenged our hero to mortal combat. The latter, incensed
at this act of insolence, slapped the challenger, and only the presence
of the king was able to prevent bloodshed. (Chaps. 112-114)
The fleet then went along the Turkish coast, plundering and
devastating. It sailed in the direction of Cyprus, landed at Famagosta
a short time afterwards, and with replenished supply of provisions,
sailed for Tunis. In the attack on that city Tirant and his men tried
to capture a tower, in front of which there was a deep ditch. Our hero
had the misfortune to fall into it. He would undoubtedly have been
slain, had not Ricart come to his rescue. The latter, however, warned
him to be on the alert, for it was his purpose to kill him. If he saved
him, it was because he did not wish to see the infidels slay him.
Tirant was deeply moved by this unexpected conduct of his rival, and he
threw himself at his feet and asked his pardon for having offended him.
Ricart, touched by the humility of Tirant, forgave him, and they became
inseparable friends until they were parted by death. (Chap. 114)
After the capture of Tunis, the fleet sailed for Sicily, where the
ships were provided with a new supply of provisions; thence along the
coast of Barbary and through the Strait of Gibraltar; then, turning, it
made its way to Marseilles, where the King of France dismissed all the
ships except his own and those of Philip. The latter went to see his
mother, and Tirant made a visit to his parents in Brittany. When the
time came for Philip to return to Sicily, he asked the king to persuade
Tirant to go with him. And thus it was that Tirant returned to Sicily.
(Chap. 114)