Old French Romances Part 3

But Amis fell to pondering in his heart, that if he should slay Arderi, he would be guilty of his death before G.o.d, and if he were vanquished, it should be for a reproach to him all his days.

Wherefore he spake thuswise to Arderi: "O thou, Count, foul rede thou hast, in that thou desirest my death so sorely, and hast foolishly cast thy life into peril of death. If thou wouldest but take back the wyte which thou layest on me, and leave this mortal battle, thou mayest have my friends.h.i.+p and my service."

But Arderi, as one out of his wit, answered him: "I will nought of thy friends.h.i.+p nor thy service; but I shall swear the sooth as it verily is, and I shall smite the head from off thee."

So Arderi swore that he had shamed the King's Daughter, and Amis swore that he lied; and straightway they dealt together in strokes, and fought together from the hour of tierce right on till nones. And Arderi was vanquished, and Amis smote off his head.

The King was troubled that he had Arderi; yet was he joyous that his daughter was purged of her guilt. And he gave to Amis his daughter, and a great sum of gold and silver, and a city hard by the sea wherein to dwell. And Amis received the same with great joy. Then he returned at his speediest to his hostel wherein he had left Amile his fellow; but whenas Amile saw him coming with much company of horse, he deemed that Amis was vanquished, and fell to fleeing: but Amis bade him return in all safety, for that he had vanquished Arderi, and thereby was wedded for him to the King's Daughter.

Thence then did Amile betake him, and abode in the aforesaid city with his wife.

But Amis abode with his wife, and he became mesel by the will of our Lord, in such wise that he might not move from his bed; for G.o.d chastiseth him that He loveth.

And his wife, who had to name Obias, had him in sore hate, and many a time strove to strangle him; and when Amis found that, he called to him two of his sergeants, Azones and Horatus by name, and said to them: "Take me out of the hands of this evil woman, and take my hanap privily and bear me to the Castle of Bericain."

So when they drew nigh to the castle, folk came to meet them, and asked of them who was the feeble sick man whom they bore; and they said it was Amis, the master of them, who was become mesel, and prayed them that they would do him some mercy. But nevertheless, they beat the sergeants of Amis, and cast him down from the cart whereon they were bearing him, and said: "Flee hence speedily if ye would not lose your lives."

Then Amis fell a-weeping, and said:

"O Thou, G.o.d debonaire and full of pity, give me death, or give me aid from mine infirmity!" And therewith he said to his sergeants: "Bring me to the Church of the Father of Rome, whereas G.o.d may peradventure of His great mercy purvey for my poverty."

When they came to Rome, Constantin the Apostle, full of pity and of holiness, and many a knight of Rome of them who had held Amis at the font, came to meet him, and gave him sustenance enough for him and his sergeants.

But in the s.p.a.ce of three years thereafter was so great famine in the city, that the father had will to thrust the son away from his house.

Then spake Azones and Horatus to Amis, and said: "Fair sir, thou wottest how feally we have served thee sithence the death of thy father unto this day, and that we have never trespa.s.sed against thy commandment. But now we may no longer abide with thee, whereas we have no will to perish of hunger: wherefore we pray thee give us leave to escape this mortal pestilence."

Then Amis answered them weeping: "O ye fair sons, and not sergeants, my only comfort, I pray you for G.o.d's sake that ye leave me not here, but bear me to the city of the Count Amile my fellow."

And they who would well obey his commandments, bore him thither whereas was Amile; and there they fell to sounding on their tartavelles before the Court of Amile, even as mesel folk be wont to do. And when Amile heard the sound thereof he bade a sergeant of his to bear to the sick man of bread and of flesh, and therewithal his hanap, which was given to him at Rome, full of good wine: and when the sergeant had done his commandment he said to him when he came again: "By the faith which I owe thee, sir, if I held not thine hanap in my hand, I had deemed that it was even that which the sick man had; for one and the same be they of greatness and of fas.h.i.+on."

Then said Amile: "Go speedily and lead him hither to me."

But when he was before his fellow he asked of him who he was, and how he had gotten that hanap. Said he: "I am of Bericain the Castle, and the hanap was given me by the Apostle of Rome, when he baptized me."

And when Amile heard that, he knew that it was Amis his fellow who had delivered him from death, and given him to wife the King's Daughter of France; straightway he cast himself upon him and fell to crying out strongly, and to weeping and lamenting, and to kissing and embracing him. And when his wife heard the same, she ran thereto all dishevelled, and making great dole, whereas she had in memory of how he had slain Arderi. And straightway they laid him in a very fair bed, and said to him: "Abide with us, fair sir, until that G.o.d shall do his will of thee, for whatsoever we have is for thee to deal with." And he abode with them, and his sergeants with him.

Now it befel on a night whenas Amis and Amile lay in one chamber without other company, that G.o.d sent to Amis Raphael his angel, who said to him: "Sleepest thou, Amis?" And he, who deemed that Amile had called to him, answered: "I sleep not, fair sweet fellow." Then the angel said to him: "Thou hast answered well, whereas thou art the fellow of the citizens of Heaven, and thou hast followed after Job, and Thoby in patience. Now I am Raphael, an angel of our Lord, and am come to tell thee of a medicine for thine healing, whereas He hath heard thy prayers. Thou shalt tell to Amile thy fellow, that he slay his two children and wash thee in their blood, and thence thou shalt get thee the healing of thy body."

Then said Amis: "Never shall it be that my fellow be a manslayer for the healing of me." But the Angel said: "Yet even so it behoveth to do."

And when he had so said, the Angel departed; and therewith Amile, as if a-sleeping, heard those words, and awoke, and said: "What is it, fellow? who hath spoken unto thee?" And Amis answered that none had spoken: "But I have prayed to our Lord according to my wont." Then Amile said: "Nay, it is not so; some one hath spoken to thee."

Therewith he arose and went to the door of the chamber, and found it shut, and said: "Tell me, fair brother, who hath spoken to thee these words of the night?"

Then Amis fell a-weeping sorely, and said to him that it was Raphael the Angel of our Lord who had said to him: "Amis, our Lord biddeth that thou tell Amile that he slay his two children, and wash thee with the blood of them, and that then thou wilt be whole of thy meselry."

But Amile was sore moved with these words, and said to him: "Amis, I have given over to thee man-servant and maid-servant and all my goods, and now thou feignest in fraud that the Angel hath spoken to thee that I slay my two children!" But forthwith Amis fell a- weeping, and said: "I wot that I have spoken to thee things grievous, as one constrained, and now I pray thee that thou cast me not out of thine house." And Amile said that he had promised that he would hold him till the hour of his death: "But I conjure thee by the faith which is betwixt thee and me, and by our fellows.h.i.+p, and by the baptism which we took between me and thee at Rome, that thou tell me if it be man or Angel who hath said this to thee."

Then Amis answered: "As true as it was an Angel who spake to me this night, so may G.o.d deliver me from mine infirmity."

Then Amile fell to weeping privily, and thinking in his heart: "This man forsooth was apparelled before the King to die for me, and why should I not slay my children for him; if he hath kept faith with me to the death, why keep I not faith? Abraham was saved by faith, and by faith have the hallows vanquished kingdoms; and G.o.d saith in the Gospel: 'That which ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them.'"

And Amile without more tarrying, went to the chamber of his wife, and bade her go hear the service of our Lord; and the Countess gat her to the church even as she was wont.

Then the Count took his sword, and went to the bed where lay his children, and found them sleeping, and he threw himself upon them, and fell to weeping bitterly and said: "Who hath heard ever of a father who of his own will hath slain his child? Ah, alas my children! I shall be no more your father, but your cruel murderer!

And therewith the children awoke because of the tears which fell on them from their father; and the children, who looked on the face of their father, fell a-laughing. And whereas they were of the age of three years or thereabout, their father said to them: "Your laughter shall be turned into weeping, for now shall your innocent blood be shed."

When he had so said he cut off their heads and then laid them out behind the bed, and laid the heads to the bodies, and covered them over even as they slept. And with their blood which he received, he washed his fellow, and said: "Sire G.o.d, Jesus Christ, who commandest men to keep faith upon the earth, and who cleansest the mesel by thy word, deign thou to cleanse my fellow, for the love of whom I have shed the blood of my children."

Then was Amis cleansed of his meselry, and they gave thanks to our Lord with great joy and said: "Blessed be G.o.d, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who healeth them that have hope in him."

And Amile clad his fellow in his own right goodly raiment; and therewith they went to the church to give thanks there, and the bells by the grace of G.o.d rang of themselves. And when the people of the city heard that, they ran all together toward that marvel.

Now the wife of the Count when she saw them both going together, fell to asking which of the two was her husband and said: "I know well the raiment of these twain, but I wot not which is Amile."

And the Count said: "I am Amile, and this my fellow is Amis, who is whole." Then the Countess wondered, and said: "I see him all whole; but much I desire to know whereby he is healed." "Render we thanks to our Lord," said the Count, "nor disquiet us as to how it may be."

Now was come the hour of tierce, and neither the father nor the mother was yet entered in to their children; but the father sighed grievously for the death of his babes. Then the Countess asked for her children to make her joy, and the Count said: "Dame let be, let the children sleep!"

Therewith he entered all alone to the children to weep over them, and he found them playing in the bed; but the scars of their wounds showed about the necks of each of them even as a red fillet.

Then he took them in his arms, and bore them to their mother, and said "Make great joy, dame, whereas thy sons whom I had slain by the commandment of the Angel are alive again, and by their blood is Amis cured and healed."

And when the Countess heard it she said: "O thou, Count, why didst thou not lead me with thee to receive the blood of my children, and I would have washed therewith Amis thy fellow and my Lord?"

Then said the Count: "Dame, let be these words; and let us be at the service of our Lord, who hath done such great wonders in our house."

Which thing they did even unto their death and held chast.i.ty.

And they made great joy through that same city for ten days.

But on the selfsame day that Amis was made whole, the devils bore off his wife; they brake the neck of her, and bore away her soul.

After these things Amis betook him to the Castle of Bericain and laid siege before it; and abode there before so long, that they of the castle rendered themselves to him. He received them benignly, and pardoned them their evil will; and from thenceforth he dwelt with them peaceably and he held with him the elder son of Amile, and served our Lord with all his heart.

Thereafter Adrian, Apostle of Rome, sent word to Charles, King of France, that he come help him against Desir, the King of the Lombards, who much tormented the Church; and Charles was as then in the town of Theodocion. Thither came Peter, messenger of the Apostle, who said to him that the Apostle prayed him to come defend Holy Church. Thereupon King Charles sent to the said Desir messengers to pray him that he give back to the Holy Father the cities and other things which he had taken from him, and that he would give him thereto the sum of forty thousand sols of gold in gold and in silver. But he would give way neither for prayers nor gifts.

Thereon the good King bade come to him all manner folk, Bishops, Abbots, Dukes, Princes, Marquises and other strong knights. And he sent to Cluses certain of these for to guard the pa.s.sage of the ways.

Amongst the which was Albins, Bishop of Angier, a man full of great holiness.

Then the King Charles together with many warriors, drew nigh to Cluses by the Mount of Sinense, and sent Bernhart his uncle, and a many with him, by the Mount of Jove. And the vanward said that Desir, together with all his force, was already at Cluses, the which he had do dight with bulwarks of iron and stone.

But whenas Charles drew nigh to Cluses, he sent his messengers to Desir, praying him to give back to the Holy Father the cities which he had taken; but he would nought for the prayer. Again Charles bade him that he send three of the children of the judges of Lombardy in hostage, until such time as he had given back the cities of the Church, and that he would betake him to France with all his host, without battle and without doing any scathe. But he neither for that, nor for aught else would blench one whit.

Now when G.o.d the almighty had seen the hard heart and malice of this man; and that the French were sore desirous to get them aback home, he set so great fear and so great trembling in the hearts of the Lombards, that they turned to flight all of them, although none chased them, and left there behind them their tents and all their gear. When that saw Charles and his host, they followed them and thrust forth into Lombardy French, Almaines, English and all other manner of folk.

Of that host were Amis and Amile, who were the first in the court of the King, and every way they heeded the works of our Lord, in fasting, in praying, in alms-doing, in giving aid to widows and orphans, in often times appeasing the wrath of the King, in suffering the evil, and consoling the realm of the Romans.

Now whenas Charles had much folk in Lombardy, King Desir came to meet him with his little host; for whereas Desir had a priest, Charles had a bishop; whereas that one had a monk, the other had an abbot; where Desir had a knight Charles had a prince; the one had a man afoot, the other a duke or a count. What should I say, where that King had one knight, Charles had thirty. So the two hosts fell to blows together with great cries and banners displayed; stones and darts flying here and there, and knights falling on every part.

And the Lombards fought so mightily for three days, that they slew of King Charles a very great infinity. And after the third day's wearing Charles called to him the most mighty and the strongest of his host, and said to them: "Either die ye in battle, or gain ye the victory."

So the King Desir and the whole host of the Lombards together fled away to the place hight Mortara, which in those days was called Fair- wood, whereas thereabout was the land delectable: there they refreshed them and took heed to their horses.