The Branding Needle, or The Monastery of Charolles Part 3

"Unless the demons themselves step next out of h.e.l.l, little Odille, our children will see nothing that could surpa.s.s what is happening now. As I said to you, the crimes of Fredegonde are as naught beside Brunhild's.

If you only knew what is going on at this very hour in the magnificent castle of Chalon-on-the-Saone, where the old Queen--the daughter, wife and mother of kings--holds her own great-grandchildren under her tutelage--but no--I dare not--my lips refuse to narrate the shocking incidents--"

"Ronan is right. Shocking things, that language is unable to render, take place to-day in the castle of Queen Brunhild," replied Loysik with a shudder; but turning to his brother he proceeded to say: "Ronan, out of respect for these young families, out of respect for humanity at large, break off your narrative at where you now are."

"You are right, Loysik; I am bound to stop before the impossibility of narrating the misdeeds of Queen Brunhild, who, nevertheless, is one of G.o.d's creatures, and belongs to the human species."

At that moment one of the monk laborers approached Loysik and notified him that someone was knocking at the outer gate of the monastery, and that a voice from without announced a message from the bishop of Chalon and from Queen Brunhild.

CHAPTER V.

THE a.s.sAULT.

The name of the female fiend who then ruled Burgundy p.r.o.nounced at that moment, produced a profound sensation among the a.s.sembled colonists.

They were amazed, and a vague sense of apprehension ran over the a.s.sembly.

"A message from the bishop and the Queen?" repeated Loysik rising and proceeding to the outward gate. "That is strange. The punt is tied every evening on this side of the river, and the watchers have imperative orders not to cross the stream at night. The messenger must have taken a boat at Noisan and rowed up the river."

With these thoughts running in his mind the superior of the community approached the ma.s.sive gate bolted from within. Several monks bearing torches followed the venerable head of their establishment. Ronan, the Master of the Hounds, and several other colonists also accompanied Loysik. He made a sign. The heavy gate was unbolted and turned upon its hinges. It exposed to view, brightly lighted by the moon, the archdeacon and Gondowald, the Queen's chamberlain. Behind them the armed men stood ranged in single file, casqued, cuira.s.sed, their bucklers on their arms, lances in hand, and swords by their sides.

"There is some treachery in this," said Loysik in a low voice to Ronan; and turning to one of the monks he asked: "Who is keeping watch to-night at the lodge of the punt?"

"The two priests--they volunteered to take the places of the two brothers whose turn it was to mount guard to-night."

"I see it all," replied Loysik with bitterness, and stepping forward he addressed the archdeacon, who had also stepped forward but stopped at the threshold of the gate together with Gondowald, while their escort of soldiers remained where they were posted.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded.

"My name is Salvien, archdeacon of the church of Chalon and nephew of the venerable Sidoine, bishop of this diocese. I am the bearer of orders from your spiritual chief."

"And I, Gondowald, chamberlain of our glorious Queen Brunhild, am commissioned by her to give the bishop's envoy my own and my men's support."

"Here is a letter for you from my uncle," said the archdeacon handing a parchment to Loysik. "I wish you to inform yourself of its contents."

"My years have made my eyes too weak to read; one of my brothers will read the letter aloud to me."

"The letter may contain secret matters," observed the archdeacon; "I recommend to you that you have it read in a low voice."

"We keep no secrets here from one another--read aloud, brother."

And Loysik pa.s.sed the missive to one of the members of the community, who proceeded to do as ordered by his superior.

The letter was to the effect that Sidoine, bishop of Chalon, inst.i.tuted his archdeacon Salvien as abbot of the monastery of Charolles, wis.h.i.+ng thereby to put an end to the scandals and enormities that for so many years afflicted Christianity by the example of this community; the same was thenceforth to be rigorously subject to the rules of St. Benoit, as were almost all the other monasteries of Gaul. The lay monks who, by their virtue and humble submission to the orders of their new abbot, should merit the favor, the entirely Christian favor, would be allowed to enter the clergy and become Roman monks. Furthermore, by virtue of the seventh canon of the council of Orleans, held two years previous (in the year 611), and which decreed that "the owners.h.i.+p of the domains, lands, vineyards, slaves and cattle, that may be donated to a parish, shall be vested in the bishop," all the goods of the monastery and of the colony, which, properly speaking, const.i.tute the parish of Charolles, were thenceforth to be vested in the bishop of Chalon, who commissioned his nephew, archdeacon Salvien, to administer said goods.

The prelate closed his missive with an order to his beloved son in Christ, Loysik, to proceed upon the spot to the city of Chalon, and there receive the reproof of his bishop and spiritual father, and humbly undergo the punishment or penance that was to be inflicted upon him.

Finally, seeing that it might happen that brother Loysik, listening to some diabolical suggestion, might commit the enormity of contemning the orders of his spiritual father, the n.o.ble Gondowald, chamberlain of the glorious Queen Brunhild, was commissioned by the ill.u.s.trious princess to cause the orders of the bishop of Chalon to be carried out, by force, if need be, through the armed men that he would carry with him.

Hardly had the monk laborer finished reading the missive than Gondowald added with a haughty and threatening air:

"I, the chamberlain of the glorious Queen Brunhild, our very excellent and very redoubtable mistress, am commissioned by her to inform you that if you and yours should have the audacity to disobey the orders of the bishop, as may happen, judging from the insolent murmurs that I have just heard, I shall have you and the most recalcitrant of your fellows tied to the tails of the horses of my riders, and shall thus take you to Chalon, quickening your steps with the shafts of our lances over your backs."

In fact, the reading of the bishop's missive was several times interrupted by the murmurs of the monk laborers and of the colonists, and these murmurs swelled to such proportions that the intervention of Loysik became necessary in order to hear the bishop's letter to the end.

But when the Frank Gondowald defiantly uttered his insolent threats, the crowd answered with an explosion of furious cries intermixed with jeers and sneers.

Ronan, the Master of the Hounds and several other old time Vagres were not among the last to murmur against the usurpatory pretensions of the Bishop of Chalon, who proposed to appropriate to himself the goods of the monk laborers and the colonists, and trample down their every right.

Although age had whitened their heads and paled their faces, the Vagres felt their old fighting blood boil in their veins. Ever a man of action, Ronan quickly reverted to his early profession and whispered to the Master of the Hounds:

"Pick out thirty resolute men, take them to the a.r.s.enal, arm yourselves and run to the punt so as to cut off the retreat of the Franks. I shall take charge of what is to be done here. By the faith of a Vagre, I feel myself grown younger by fifty years!"

"And I, Ronan, while the insolent missive was being read, and especially when the valet of that infamous Queen dared to threaten us, my hand looked for a sword at my side."

Immediately the two old Vagres started to work among the crowd of colonists and monks; they moved hither and thither, whispering in the ears of the men whom they were choosing, and each of whom vanished successively amidst the increasing uproar, that Loysik's firm and sonorous voice was hardly able to dominate as he answered the archdeacon:

"The Bishop of Chalon has no right to impose upon this community either special rules or an abbot. We elect our chiefs ourselves and of our free will, in the same manner that we adopt such rules as we are willing to follow, provided they be Christian. Such was the former and original law that presided at the foundation of all the cloisters of Gaul. The bishops exercise over us only the spiritual jurisdiction that they exercise upon all other lay members. We are here the masters of our goods and of our persons, by virtue of a charter of the late King Clotaire, which expressly forbids his dukes, counts and bishops to incommode us. You speak of councils. One can find anything he wants in those councils, good and evil, what is just and what is unjust. My memory has not yet left me. This is what the council of 611 says upon this very subject:

"'We have learned that certain bishops wrongfully establish their own relatives or favorites as abbots in monasteries, and procure for them iniquitous advantages, in order to acquire through violence all that can be extracted from the monastery by the agent whom they have placed there.'"

The archdeacon bit his lips, and a volley of hisses drowned his voice as he attempted to make answer.

"That language, the language I have quoted to you as held by that council of 611, is the language of justice," Loysik proceeded to say; "and I recognize in no council, in no prelate, in no King, in no Pope the right to dispossess honorable and industrious people of their goods, their lands and their freedom, all of which they hold by virtue of their natural rights, which are anterior and superior to all authority."

"I say that your monastery is a new Babylon, a modern Gomorrah!" cried the archdeacon. "The Bishop of Chalon was so informed; I wished to convince myself by personal observation. I see women and young girls in this place which should be consecrated to austerity, to prayer and to seclusion. I see all the evidences of an unclean orgy, which was doubtlessly intended to be prolonged until morning--under your own eyes, in this monastery!"

"Enough!" cried Loysik in turn and indignantly. "I, as the head of this community, forbid you to soil the ears of these wives and young girls, who are here a.s.sembled with their families in order peacefully to celebrate the anniversary of our settlement upon this free soil!"

"Archdeacon, we have had a surfeit of words," put in Gondowald haughtily. "To what purpose reason with these dogs--have you not my men here, ready to enforce obedience?"

"I wish to make one last effort to open the eyes of these unhappy blind people," answered the archdeacon. "This unworthy Loysik keeps them under his infernal magic. All of you who hear my voice, tremble if you resist the orders of our bishop!"

"Salvien," said Loysik, "these words are idle, your threats will be unavailing before our firm resolution to uphold the justice of our cause. We reject you as abbot of this monastery. These monk laborers and the inhabitants of this colony owe no one an account of their goods.

This useless debate is wearisome; let us put an end to it. The door of this monastery is open to those who present themselves as friends, but it closes in the face of those who present themselves as enemies or masters, in the name of iniquitous pretensions. Withdraw from these premises!"

"Be gone, archdeacon of the devil!" yelled several voices. "Try not to disturb our celebration! You might be sorry for it!"

"Rebellion! Threats!" cried the archdeacon, and stepping aside to make room for the Frankish warriors to enter the courtyard, he added: "Gondowald, carry out the Queen's orders!"

"But for your delays, her orders would long ago have been executed!

Forward, my soldiers; bind the old monk, and exterminate the plebs if it offers resistance!"

"Forward, my boys! Down with these Franks, and long live old Gaul!"

Whose voice was that? It was the voice of old Ronan, close upon whose heels followed about thirty monk laborers and colonists, all picked men, resolute and strong, and fully armed with lances, axes and swords. These doughty men had noiselessly pa.s.sed out of the precincts of the monastery through the yard of the stables and rounded the outside buildings till they reached a corner of the wall that surrounded the main building.

There they halted, silent and in ambush, until the moment when Gondowald summoned his soldiers. Ronan's men immediately and unexpectedly fell thereupon on the Franks. At the same moment and accompanied by an equally determined, strong and well armed body of men, Gregory was seen issuing from the interior buildings of the monastery, pushed his way through the crowd that now filled the courtyard and advanced in good order upon the enemy. The archdeacon, Gondowald and the twenty soldiers that const.i.tuted his escort, found themselves suddenly surrounded by over sixty determined men, in justice to whom be it said all of them were animated with evil intentions towards the Franks. The latter were not long in perceiving the hopelessness of their situation and the feelings entertained towards them. They offered no serious resistance; after a few pa.s.ses they surrendered. Despite, however, the rapidity with which the manoeuvre was executed, Gondowald, who in his first impulse of surprise and rage had raised his sword over Loysik's head and wounded one of the monks who covered the aged superior with his body--Gondowald, for all that he rejoiced in the office of chamberlain to the glorious Queen Brunhild, was thrown to the ground and soundly drubbed before his disarmed men. Thanks to Loysik's intervention, no blood flowed in the rapid melee other than that of the monk who was slightly wounded by Gondowald. As a matter of precaution, the n.o.ble chamberlain was bound fast and handcuffed with the identical rope and manacles that, with a foresight for which old Ronan felt duly grateful, he had intended for Loysik.

"In the name of the Holy Roman and Apostolic Church, I excommunicate you all!" cried the archdeacon livid with rage. "Anathema upon whosoever should dare to lift a sacrilegious hand against a priest of the Church, an anointed of the Lord!"