THE LISTS.
The third day after the arrival of the Earl of Evesham there was a great
banquet given by the King of France to King Richard and his principal
nobles.
Among those present was the Earl of Evesham, and Cuthbert as his page
followed him to the great tent where the banquet was prepared.
Here, at the top of the tent, on a raised daïs, sat the King of France,
surrounded by his courtiers. The Earl of Evesham, having been conducted
by the herald to the daïs, paid his compliments to the king, and was
saluted by him with many flattering words.
The sound of a trumpet was heard, and Richard of England, accompanied by
his 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. His
appearance was in some respects rather Saxon than Norman, for his hair
was light and his complexion clear and bright. He wore the mustache and
pointed beard at that time in fashion; and although his expression was
generally that of frankness and good humor, there might be observed in
his quick motions and piercing glances signs of the hasty temper and
unbridled passion which went far to wreck the success of the enterprise
upon which he was embarked.
Richard possessed most of the qualities which make a man a great king
and render him the idol of his subjects, especially in a time of
semi-civilization, when personal prowess is placed at the summit of all
human virtues. In all his dominions there was not one man who in
personal 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. Although
haughty of his dignity, he was entirely free from any personal pride,
and while he would maintain to the death every right and privilege
against another monarch, he could laugh and joke with the humblest of
his subjects on terms of hearty good fellowship. He was impatient of
contradiction, eager to carry out whatever he had determined upon; and
nothing enraged him so much as hesitation or procrastination. The delays
which were experienced in the course of the Crusade angered him more
than all the opposition offered by the Saracens, or than the hardships
through which the Christian host had to pass.
At a flourish of trumpets all took their seats at dinner, their places
being marked for them by a herald, whose duty it was to regulate nicely
the various ranks and dignities.
The Earl of Evesham was placed next to a noble of Brabant. Cuthbert took
his place behind his lord and served him with wines and meats, the
Brabant being attended by a tall youth, who was indeed on the verge of
manhood.
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 of
Sir de Jacquelin Barras, Count of Brabant, was rude and offensive.
It might be that he was accustomed to live alone with his retainers, and
that his manners were rude and coarse to all. It might be that he had a
special hostility to the English. At any rate, his remarks were
calculated to fire the anger of the earl.
He began the conversation by wondering how a Norman baron could live in
a 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 to
feel themselves English, and to resent attacks upon a people for whom
their grandfathers had entertained contempt.
He angrily repelled the attack upon them by the Brabant knight, and
asserted at once that the Saxons were every bit as civilized, and in
some respects superior to the Normans or French.
The ill-feeling thus began at starting clearly waxed stronger as dinner
went on. The Brabant knight drank deeply, and although his talk was not
clearly directed against the English, yet he continued to throw out
innuendos and side attacks, and to talk with a vague boastfulness, which
greatly 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 the
wine over his dress.
"What a clumsy child!" he said scoffingly.
"You are a rough and ill-mannered loon," Cuthbert said angrily. "Were
you 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 little
hop-of-my-thumb as you are."
"I think," said Sir Jacquelin--for the boys' voices both rose loud--to
the earl, "you had better send that brat home and order him to be
whipped."
"Sir count," said the earl, "your manners are insolent, and were we not
engaged upon a Crusade, it would please me much to give you a lesson on
that score."
Higher and higher the dispute rose, until some angry word caught the ear
of the king.
Amid the general buzz of voices King Philip rose, and speaking a word
to King Richard, moved from the table, thus giving the sign for the
breaking up of the feast.
Immediately afterward a page touched the earl and Sir Jacquelin upon the
shoulder, and told them that the kings desired to speak with them in the
tent of the King of France.
The two nobles strode through the crowd, regarding each other with eyes
much like those of two dogs eager to fly at each other's throat.
"My lords, my lords," said King Philip when they entered, "this is
against all law and reason. For shame, to be brawling at my table. I
would not say aught openly, but methinks it is early indeed for the
knights and nobles engaged in a common work to fall to words."
"Your majesty," said the Earl of Evesham, "I regret deeply what has
happened. But it seemed from the time we sat down to the meal that this
lord sought to pass a quarrel upon me, and I now beseech your majesty
that you will permit us to settle our differences in the lists."
King Richard gave a sound of assent, but the King of France shook his
head gravely.
"Do you forget," he said, "the mission upon which you are assembled
here? Has not every knight and noble in these armies taken a solemn oath
to put aside private quarrels and feuds until the holy sepulcher is
taken? Shall we at this very going off show that the oath is a mere form
of words? Shall we show before the face of Christendom that the knights
of the cross are unable to avoid flying at each other's throats, even
while 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 good
brother here that you will keep the peace between you until this war is
over. Whose fault it was that the quarrel began I know not. It may be
that my Lord of Brabant was discourteous. It may be that the earl here
was too hot. But whichever it be, it matters not."
"The quarrel, sire," said Sir Jacquelin, "arose from a dispute between
our pages, who were nigh coming to blows in your majesty's presence. I
desired the earl to chide the insolence of his varlet, and instead of so
doing he met my remarks with scorn."
"Pooh, pooh," said King Richard, "there are plenty of grounds for
quarrel without two nobles interfering in the squabbles of boys. Let
them 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 not
fight, there is no reason in the world why the varlets should not. We
are sorely dull for want of amusement. Let us have a list to-morrow, and
let the pages fight it out for the honor of their masters and their
nations."
"It were scarce worth while to have the lists set for two boys to
fight," said the King of France.
"Oh, we need not have regular lists," said King Richard. "Leave that
matter in my hands. I warrant you that if the cockerels are well
plucked, they will make us sport. What say you, gentlemen?"
The Brabant noble at once assented, answering that he was sure that his
page would be glad to enter the lists; and the earl gave a similar
assent, for he had not noticed how great was the discrepancy between the
size of the future combatants.
"That is agreed, then," said King Richard joyously. "I will have a piece
of ground marked out on the edge of the camp to-morrow morning. It shall
be kept by my men-at-arms, and there shall be a raised place for King
Philip and myself, who will be the judges of the conflict. Will they
fight on foot or on horse?"
"On foot, on foot," said the King of France. "It would be a pity that
knightly exercises should be brought to scorn by any failure on their
part 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 to
let the quarrel between you drop, at least until after our return. If
you still wish to shed each other's blood, I shall offer no hindrance
thereto."
The earl and Count Jacquelin touched each other's hands in obedience to
the order, went out of the tent together, and strode off without a word
in different directions.
"My dear lad," the Earl of Evesham said on entering his tent where his
page was waiting him, "this is a serious business. The kings have
ordered this little count and myself to put aside our differences till
after the Crusade, in accordance with our oath. But as you have in no
wise pledged yourself in the same fashion, and as their majesties feel
somewhat dull while waiting here, it is determined that the quarrel
between the count and me, and between you and the count's page, shall be
settled by a fight between you two in the presence of the kings."
"Well, sir," Cuthbert said, "I am glad that it should be, seeing the
varlet insulted me without any cause, and purposely upset the cup over
me."
"What is he like?" the earl asked. "Dost think that you are a fair
match?"
"I doubt not that we are fair match enough," Cuthbert said. "As you
know, sir, I have been well trained to arms of all kinds, both by my
father and by the men-at-arms at the castle, and could hold my own
against any of your men with light weapons, and have then no fear that
this gawky loon, twenty years old though he seems to be, will bring
disgrace upon me or discredit upon my nation."
"If thou thinkest so," the earl said, "the matter can go on. But had it
been otherwise I would have gone to the king and protested that the
advantage of age was so great that it would be murder to place you in
the lists together."
"There is," Cuthbert said, "at most no greater difference between us
than between a strong man and a weak one, and these, in the ordeal of
battle, have to meet in the lists. Indeed I doubt if the difference is
so great, for if he be a foot taller than I, methinks that round the
shoulders I should have the advantage of him."
"Send hither my armorer," the earl said; "we must choose a proper suit
for you. I fear that mine would be of little use; but doubtless there
are some smaller suits among my friends."
"The simpler and lighter the better," Cuthbert said. "I'd rather have a
light coat of mail and a steel cap than heavy armor and a helmet which
would press me down, and a visor through which I could scarce see. The
lighter 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 earl
being called in and the case stated, there was soon found a coat of fine
linked mail, which fitted Cuthbert well. As to the steel cap there was
no difficulty whatever.
"You must have a plume at least," the earl said, and took some feathers
from his own casque and fastened them in. "Will you want a light sword
and battle-ax?"
"No," Cuthbert said, "my arms are pretty well used to those of the
men-at-arms. I could wield my father's sword, and that was a heavy
one."
The lightest of the earl's weapons were chosen, and it was agreed that
all 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 Brabant
page, by the permission of the kings of England and France, that their
majesties were to be present, and that all was to be conducted on
regular rules, caused a stir of excitement and novelty in the camp.
Nowhere is life duller than among a large body of men kept together for
any time under canvas, and the thought of a combat of this novel kind
excited general interest.
In a meadow at a short distance from the camp a body of King Richard's
men-at-arms marked off an oval space of about an acre. Upon one side of
this a tent was pitched for the kings, and a small tent was placed at
each end for the combatants. Round the inclosure the men-at-arms formed
the ring, and behind them a dense body of spectators gathered, a place
being set aside for nobles, and others of gentle blood.
At the hour fixed the kings of England and France arrived together. King
Richard was evidently in a state of high good humor, for he preferred
the 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 wiser
and more politic king than Richard; and although he had consented to
the sudden proposal, yet he felt in his heart that the contest was a
foolish one, and that it might create bad feeling among the men of the
two nationalities whichever way it went. He had reserved to himself the
right of throwing down the baton when the combat was to cease, and he
determined to avail himself of this right to put a stop to the conflict
before either party was likely to sustain any deadly injury.
When the monarchs had taken their places the trumpeters sounded their
trumpets, and the two combatants advanced on foot from their ends of the
lists. A murmur of surprise and dissatisfaction broke from the crowd.
"My Lord of Evesham," the king said angrily to the earl, who with Count
Jacquelin was standing by the royal party, "thou shouldst have said that
the difference between the two was too great to allow the combat to be
possible. The Frenchman appears to be big enough to take your page under
his arm and walk off with him."
The difference was indeed very striking. The French champion was arrayed
in a full suit of knightly armor--of course without the gold spurs which
were the distinguishing mark of that rank--and with his helmet and lofty
plume of feathers he appeared to tower above Cuthbert, who, in his
close-fitting steel cap and link armor seemed a very dwarf by the side
of a giant.
"It is not size, sire, but muscle and pluck will win in a combat like
this. Your majesty need not be afraid that my page will disgrace me. He
is of my blood, though the kinship is not close. He is of mixed Saxon
and 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 English
nationality, and would have been sorely vexed to see the discomfiture of
an English champion, even though that champion were a boy.
"Brother Philip," he said, turning to the king, "I will wager my gold
chain against yours on yonder stripling."
"Methinks that it were robbery to take your wager," the King of France
said. "The difference between their bulk is disproportionate. However, I
will not balk your wish. My chain against yours."
The rule of the fight was that they were to commence with swords, but
that either could, if he chose, use his battle-ax.
The fight need scarcely be described at length, for the advantage was
all one way. Cuthbert was fully a match in strength for his antagonist,
although standing nigh a foot shorter. Constant exercise, however, had
hardened his muscles into something like steel, while the teaching that
he 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 of
hard, 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, which
he was with difficulty enabled to guard; but when the first paroxysm of
his adversary's attack had passed he took to the offensive, and drove
his opponent back step by step. With his sword, however, he was unable
to cut through the armor of the Frenchman, but in the course of the
encounter, guarding a severe blow aimed at him, his sword was struck
from his hand, and he then, seizing his ax, made such play with it that
his foe dropped his own sword and took to the same weapon.
In this the superior height and weight of his opponent gave him even a
greater advantage than with the sword, and Cuthbert knowing this, used
his utmost dexterity and speed to avoid the sweeping blows showered upon
him. He himself had been enabled to strike one or two sweeping strokes,
always aiming at the same place, the juncture of the visor with the
helmet. At last the Frenchman struck him so heavy a blow that it beat
down his guard and struck his steel cap from his head, bringing him to
the knee. In an instant he was up, and before his foe could be again on
guard, he whirled his ax round with all its force, and bringing it just
at the point of the visor which he had already weakened with repeated
blows, the edge of the ax stove clean through the armor, and the page
was struck senseless to the ground.
A great shout broke from the English portion of the soldiery as
Cuthbert leaned over his prostrate foe, and receiving no answer to the
question "Do you yield?" rose to his feet, and signified to the squire
who had kept near that his opponent was insensible.
King Richard ordered the pursuivant to lead Cuthbert to the royal
inclosure.
"Thou art a brave lad and a lusty," the king said, "and hast borne thee
in 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 will
yet come when thou wilt do as good deeds upon the bodies of the Saracens
as thou hast upon that long-shanked opponent of thine. Here is a gold
chain; take it as a proof that the King of England holds that you have
sustained well the honor of his country; and mark me, if at any time you
require a boon, bring or send me that chain, and thou shalt have it
freely. Sir Walter," he said, turning to the earl, "in this lad thou
hast a worthy champion, and I trust me that thou wilt give him every
chance of distinguishing himself. So soon as thou thinkest him fit for
the knightly rank I myself will administer the accolade."