Legends of the Middle Ages Part 19

Nor rank nor age from capering refrain; Nor can the king his royal foot restrain!

He too must reel amid the frolic row, Grasp the grand vizier by his beard of snow, And teach the aged man once more to bound amain!"

WIELAND, _Oberon_ (Sotheby's tr.).

[Sidenote: Flight of Rezia.] While they were thus occupied, Huon conducted the willing Rezia to the door, where Sherasmin was waiting for them with fleet steeds, and with Fatima, the princess's favorite attendant. While Sherasmin helped the ladies to mount, Huon hastened back to the palace hall, and found that the exhausted caliph had sunk upon a divan. With the prescribed ceremonies, our hero politely craved a lock of his beard and four of his teeth as a present for Charlemagne. This impudent request so incensed the caliph that he vociferated orders to his guards to slay the stranger. Huon was now forced to defend himself with a curtain pole and a golden bowl, until, needing aid, he suddenly blew a resounding peal upon his magic horn. The earth shook, the palace rocked, Oberon appeared in the midst of rolling thunder and flas.h.i.+ng lightning, and with a wave of his lily wand plunged caliph and people into a deep sleep. Then he placed his silver car at Huon's disposal, to bear him and his bride and attendants to Ascalon, where a s.h.i.+p was waiting to take them back to France.

"'So haste, thou matchless pair!

On wings of love, my car, that cuts the air, Shall waft you high above terrestrial sight, And place, ere morning melt the shades of night, On Askalon's far sh.o.r.e, beneath my guardian care.'"

WIELAND, _Oberon_ (Sotheby's tr.).

[Sidenote: Oberon's warning.] When Huon and Rezia were about to embark at Ascalon, Oberon appeared. He claimed his chariot, which had brought them thither, and gave the knight a golden and jeweled casket, which contained the teeth of the caliph and a lock of his beard. One last test of Huon's loyalty was required, however; for Oberon, at parting, warned him to make no attempt to claim Rezia as his wife until their union had been blessed at Rome by the Pope.

"'And deep, O Huon! grave it in your brain!

Till good Sylvester, pious father, sheds Heaven's holy consecration on your heads, As brother and as sister chaste remain!

Oh, may ye not, with inauspicious haste, The fruit forbidden prematurely taste!

Know, if ye rashly venture ere the time, That Oberon, in vengeance of your crime, Leaves you, without a friend, on life's deserted waste!'"

WIELAND, _Oberon_ (Sotheby's tr.).

The first part of the journey was safely accomplished; but when they stopped at Lepanto, on the way, Huon insisted upon his mentor, Sherasmin, taking pa.s.sage on another vessel, which sailed direct to France, that he might hasten ahead, lay the golden casket at Charlemagne's feet, and announce Huon's coming with his Oriental bride.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HUON AND AMANDA LEAP OVERBOARD.--Gabriel Max.]

When Sherasmin had reluctantly departed, and they were again on the high seas, Huon expounded the Christian faith to Rezia, who not only was converted, but was also baptized by a priest on board. He gave her the Christian name of Amanda, in exchange for her pagan name of Rezia or Esclarmonde. This same priest also consecrated their marriage; and while Huon intended to await the Pope's blessing ere he claimed Amanda as his wife, his good resolutions were soon forgotten, and the last injunction of Oberon disregarded.

[Sidenote: Disobedience and punishment.] This disobedience was immediately punished, for a frightful tempest suddenly arose, threatening to destroy the vessel and all on board. The sailors, full of superst.i.tious fears, cast lots to discover who should be sacrificed to allay the fury of the storm.

When the choice fell upon Huon, Amanda flung herself with him into the tumultuous waves. As the lovers vanished overboard the storm was suddenly appeased, and, instead of drowning together, Huon and Amanda, by the magic of the ring she wore, drifted to a volcanic island, where they almost perished from hunger and thirst.

Much search among the rocks was finally rewarded by the discovery of some dates, which were particularly welcome, as the lovers had been bitterly deluded by the sight of some apples of Sodom. The fruit, however, was soon exhausted, and, after untold exertions, Huon made his way over the mountains to a fertile valley, the retreat of t.i.tania, queen of the fairies, who had quarreled with Oberon, and who was waiting here until recalled to fairyland.

The only visible inhabitant of the valley, however, was a hermit, who welcomed Huon, and showed him a short and convenient way to bring Amanda thither. After listening attentively to the story of Huon's adventures, the hermit bade him endeavor to recover the favor of Oberon by voluntarily living apart from his wife, and leading a life of toil and abstinence.

"'Blest,' says the hermit, 'blest the man whom fate Guides with strict hand, but not unfriendly aim!

How blest! whose slightest fault is doom'd to shame!

Him, trained to virtue, purest joys await,-- Earth's purest joys reward each trying pain!

Think not the fairy will for aye remain Inexorable foe to hearts like thine: Still o'er you hangs his viewless hand divine; Do but deserve his grace, and ye his grace obtain."

WIELAND, _Oberon_ (Sotheby's tr.).

[Sidenote: Huon's penance.] Huon was ready and willing to undergo any penance which would enable him to deliver his beloved Amanda from the isle, and after building her a little hut, within call of the cell he occupied with the hermit, he spent all his time in tilling the soil for their sustenance, and in listening to the teachings of the holy man.

Time pa.s.sed on. One day Amanda restlessly wandered a little way up the mountain, and fell asleep in a lovely grotto, which she now for the first time discovered. When she awoke from a blissful dream she found herself clasping her new-born babe, who, during her slumbers, had been cared for by the fairies. This child, Huonet, was, of course, a great comfort to Amanda, who was devoted to him.

When the babe was a little more than a year old the aged monk died. Huon and Amanda, despairing of release from the desert island, were weary of living apart; and t.i.tania, who foresaw that Oberon would send new misfortunes upon them to punish them in case they did not stand the second test, carried little Huonet off to fairyland, lest he should suffer for his parents' sins.

[Sidenote: Amanda and the pirates.] Huon and Amanda, in the mean time, searched frantically for the missing babe, fancying it had wandered off into the woods. During their search they became separated, and Amanda, while walking along the seash.o.r.e, was seized by pirates. They intended to carry her away and sell her as a slave to the Sultan. Huon heard her cries of distress, and rushed to her rescue; but in spite of his utmost efforts to join her he saw her borne away to the waiting vessel, while he was bound to a tree in the woods, and left there to die.

"Deep in the wood, at distance from the sh.o.r.e, They drag their victim, that his loudest word Pour'd on the desert air may pa.s.s unheard.

Then bind the wretch, and fasten o'er and o'er Arm, leg, and neck, and shoulders, to a tree.

To heaven he looks in speechless agony, O'ercome by woe's unutterable weigfit.

Thus he--the while, with jocund shout elate The crew bear off their prey, and bound along the sea."

WIELAND, _Oberon_ (Sotheby's tr.).

Oberon, however, had pity at last upon the unfortunate knight, and sent one of his invisible servants, who not only unbound him, but transported him, with miraculous rapidity, over land and sea, and deposited him at the door of a gardener's house in Tunis.

[Sidenote: Sherasmin's search.] After parting from his master at Lepanto, Sherasmin traveled on until he came to the gates of the palace with his precious casket. Then only did he realize that Charlemagne would never credit his tale unless Huon were there with his bride to vouch for its truth. Instead of entering the royal abode he therefore hastened back to Rome, where for two months he awaited the arrival of the young couple.

Then, sure that some misfortune had overtaken them, the faithful Sherasmin wandered in pilgrim guise from place to place seeking them, until he finally came to Tunis, where Fatima, Amanda's maid, had been sold into slavery, and where he sorrowfully learned of his master's death.

To be near Fatima, Sherasmin took a gardener's position in the Sultan's palace, and when he opened the door of his humble dwelling one morning he was overjoyed to find Huon, who had been brought there by the messenger of Oberon. An explanation ensued, and Huon, under the a.s.sumed name of Ha.s.san, became Sherasmin's a.s.sistant in the Sultan's gardens.

The pirates, in the mean while, hoping to sell Amanda to the Sultan himself, had treated her with the utmost deference; but as they neared the sh.o.r.e of Tunis their vessel suffered s.h.i.+pwreck, and all on board perished miserably, except Amanda. She was washed ash.o.r.e at the Sultan's feet.

Charmed by her beauty, the Sultan conveyed her to his palace, where he would immediately have married her had she not told him that she had made a vow of chast.i.ty which she was bound to keep for two years.

[Sidenote: Huon and Amanda reunited.] Huon, unconscious of Amanda's presence, worked in the garden, where the Sultan's daughter saw him and fell in love with him. As she failed to win him, she became very jealous.

Soon after this Fatima discovered Amanda's presence in the palace, and informed Huon, who made a desperate effort to reach her. This was discovered by the jealous princess, and since Huon would not love her, she was determined that he should not love another. She therefore artfully laid her plans, and accused him of a heinous crime, for which the Sultan, finding appearances against him, condemned him to death. Amanda, who was warned by Fatima of Huon's danger, rushed into the Sultan's presence to plead for her husband's life; but when she discovered that she could obtain it only at the price of renouncing him forever and marrying the Sultan, she declared that she preferred to die, and elected to be burned with her beloved. The flames were already rising around them both, when Oberon, touched by their sufferings and their constancy, suddenly appeared, and again hung his horn about Huon's neck.

The knight hailed this sign of recovered favor with rapture, and, putting the magic horn to his lips, showed his magnanimity by blowing only a soft note and making all the pagans dance.

"No sooner had the grateful knight beheld, With joyful ardor seen, the ivory horn, Sweet pledge of fairy grace, his neck adorn, Than with melodious whisper gently swell'd, His lip entices forth the sweetest tone That ever breath'd through magic ivory blown: He scorns to doom a coward race to death.

'Dance! till ye weary gasp, depriv'd of breath-- Huon permits himself this slight revenge alone'"

WIELAND, _Oberon_ (Sotheby's tr.).

[Sidenote: Huon and Amanda in fairyland.] While all were dancing, much against their will, Huon and Amanda, Sherasmin and Fatima, promptly stepped into the silvery car which Oberon placed at their disposal, and were rapidly transported to fairyland. There they found little Huonet in perfect health. Great happiness now reigned, for t.i.tania, having secured the ring which Amanda had lost in her struggle with the pirates on the sandy sh.o.r.e, had given it back to Oberon. He was propitiated by the gift, and as the sight of Huon and Amanda's fidelity had convinced him that wives could be true, he took t.i.tania back into favor, and reinstated her as queen of his realm.

When Huon and Amanda had sojourned as long as they wished in fairyland, they were wafted in Oberon's car to the gates of Paris. There Huon arrived just in time to win, at the point of his lance, his patrimony of Guienne, which Charlemagne had offered as prize at a tournament. Bending low before his monarch, the young hero then revealed his name, presented his wife, gave him the golden casket containing the lock of hair and the four teeth, and said that he had accomplished his quest.

"Our hero lifts the helmet from his head; And boldly ent'ring, like the G.o.d of day, His golden ringlets down his armor play.

All, wond'ring, greet the youth long mourn'd as dead, Before the king his spirit seems to stand!

Sir Huon with Amanda, hand in hand, Salutes the emperor with respectful bow-- 'Behold, obedient to his plighted vow, Thy va.s.sal, sovereign liege, returning to thy land!

"'For by the help of Heaven this arm has done What thou enjoin'dst--and lo! before thine eye The beard and teeth of Asia's monarch lie, At hazard of my life, to please thee, won; And in this fair, by every peril tried, The heiress of his throne, my love, my bride!'

He spoke; and lo! at once her knight to grace, Off falls the veil that hid Amanda's face, And a new radiance gilds the hall from side to side."

WIELAND, _Oberon_ (Sotheby's tr.).

The young couple, entirely restored to favor, sojourned a short time at court and then traveled southward to Guienne, where their subjects received them with every demonstration of extravagant joy. Here they spent the remainder of their lives together in happiness and comparative peace.

[Sidenote: An earlier version of the story.] According to an earlier version of the story, Esclarmonde, whom the pirates intended to convey to the court of her uncle, Yvoirin of Montbrand, was wrecked near the palace of Galafre, King of Tunis, who respected her vow of chast.i.ty but obstinately refused to give her up to her uncle when he claimed her. Huon, delivered from his fetters on the island, was borne by Malebron, Oberon's servant, to Yvoirin's court, where he immediately offered himself as champion to defy Galafre and win back his beloved wife at the point of the sword. No sooner did Huon appear in martial array at Tunis than Galafre selected Sherasmin (who had also been s.h.i.+pwrecked off his coast, and had thus become his slave) as his champion. Huon and Sherasmin met, but, recognizing each other after a few moments' struggle, they suddenly embraced, and, joining forces, slew the pagans and carried off Esclarmonde and Fatima. They embarked upon a swift sailing vessel, and soon arrived at Rome, where Huon related his adventures to the Pope, who gave him his blessing.

As they were on their way to Charlemagne's court, Girard, a knight who had taken possession of Huon's estates, stole the golden casket from Sherasmin, and sent Huon and Esclarmonde in chains to Bordeaux. Then, going to court, he informed Charlemagne that although Huon had failed in his quest, he had dared to return to France. Charlemagne, whose anger had not yet cooled, proceeded to Bordeaux, tried Huon, and condemned him to death. But just as the knight was about to perish, Oberon appeared, bound the emperor and Girard fast, and only consented to restore them to freedom when Charlemagne promised to reinstate Huon.

Oberon then produced the missing casket, revealed Girard's treachery, and, after seeing him punished, bore Huon and Esclarmonde off to fairyland. Huon eventually became ruler of this realm in Oberon's stead; and his daughter, Claretie, whose equally marvelous adventures are told at great length in another, but far less celebrated, _chanson de geste_, is represented as the ancestress of all the Capetian kings of France.

CHAPTER XI.

t.i.tUREL AND THE HOLY GRAIL.