This is a blog where I will be recounting and commenting on William Morris' 1896 Fantasy novel, The Well at the World's End.
What is that?
The Well at the World's End is an early example of modern Fantasy and was a big influence on both Lewis and Tolkien.
Why are you doing this?
Because I want to! I love the story, think it's very interesting, and also was shocked to find that it doesn't really have any modern presence. When I was reading it, I was unable to find chapter summaries, maps, or any other useful things. I intend to correct this.
My friend told me "be the weird nerd you want to see in the world."
I think it's particularly interesting for not being based in pre-existing mythology, and in the way the author's views come through in the writing. I feel like it was very ahead of its time (both intentionally and unintentionally). It dodges certain thorny pitfalls, walks into others, but I think it's very interesting, and I want to share it with people.
How are you doing this?
I'll start by making a post or two of background information (sort of expanding on this FAQ), then go chapter-by-chapter, summarizing what happens and commenting on it.
I will also likely do interstitial posts of broader commentary and background information.
What's the update schedule?
There isn't one. I'll do it when I do it with very little regard to pacing.
How professional/academic will this be?
Not very at all. I do not intend to do much research, though I may look things up to double-check biographical facts that I mention. Mostly I'll be focused on the text and giving my own thoughts about it.
Note: I will 100% accidentally reblog things to this account. I'll do my best to notice and delete these intruders, but if I miss one, please let me know.
How qualified are you?
I'm not! I'm an aspiring writer who likes to talk about and summarize things, and I do not have any sort of degree or certification in literary studies or literary criticism.
I am interested in linguistics, though, so I'll probably discuss the interesting grammar and diction of the story semi-competently.
Other notes:
I'll include text blocks from time to time.
At some point, I will be making a map (so my notes will pay extra attention to direction, distance, and landforms).
I'll do my best to tag things in a useful way.
Important Links:
Text (via Project Gutenberg)
Audiobooks (via Librivox)
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Book 4
Chapter 21 - Talk Between Those Two Brethren
Text
Audio
Synopsis:
Hugh and Ralph catch up
Summary:
"Nay, I have had no tidings of Upmeads since I was fool enough to leave it."
Ralph first asked Hugh if he knew anything about their brother Gregory, at which Hugh laughed and pointed to Higham, saying: “He’s over there.”
“What? Among the Abbot’s men?”
“Yes,” said Hugh, laughing again, “but in his spiritual army, not his military one: he’s a monk, brother. That is, he is already a novice and will be a brother of the Abbey within the next six months.”
“And Launcelot Long-tongue, your squire, how is he?”
“He’s also with the Abbot, but in his military army, not the spiritual one. He is one of their sergeants and a pretty good catch for them, since he’s a good fighter as you know. And he has such a way with words, the men listen to him gladly.”
“But tell me,” said Ralph, “why is it that the Abbot’s men have become so rude and defensive of their town? What are they afraid of? Isn’t the Lord Abbot still powerful?”
Hugh shook his head, saying: “Things have changed in Higham, but I do agree that the knights have become too cautious and afraid.”
“What happened?”
“The Lord Abbot used to be a powerful man, and both Higham and its castles, manors, and other outposts were well-manned and well-defended, and the people were ready to take up arms whenever they were called to fight. In short, Higham was as powerful as it was rich, and the Abbot’s men had no trouble with anybody—that is except with your friends here who wear the Tree Leafless; everyone else was afraid of the holy walls and the blessed men who guarded them.
“They say the Dry Tree feared neither man nor devil (and I hope that’s the case, since they’re on your side), and now and then they would steal from the Abbot’s lands when they had no other entertainment, and often they bested the Abbot’s men.
“But all things come to an end. As I hear it, about a year and a half ago, the Abbot came into conflict with the Westland Barons, who were and still are bad men to deal with, being both hungry and strong. The quarrel grew until my Lord had to fight them, and to make a long story short he himself put on armor and led his men against them. They met some twenty miles to the west in the field of the Wry Bridge, and there the Holy Church was defeated. The Abbot, who is as brave a man as ever sang mass—though not the best at war—would not flee, and since no one was willing to kill him (if they could help it), they took him prisoner and now he sits in their strong castle out west, the Red Mount.
“Well, with him gone and many of his best warriors killed, the rest ran back home. When the Westlanders attacked Higham, expecting to take it easily, the monks and their men put up such a fight that the Westlanders broke their teeth over it. So they turned back and took over most of the castles and forts in the Abbot’s lands, burned some and occupied others,[1] and they took back men and women as slaves, so now the lands of Higham are half-ruined. So the monks, though they’re strong enough inside their walls, will not let their men ride abroad. So they’re cooped up in that place with nothing to do cheer them up and they’ve grown sour and testy.”[2]
“But, brother,” said Ralph, “however rude and cowardly they might be, I can’t see why they would slam their gates in our faces, small as we are, when there are no enemies around.”
“Ralph,” said Hugh, “consider that the Dry Tree is a bad letter of introduction to wave in honest people’s faces—especially monks. The brothers of Higham have a rumor that those Champions have made a deal with the devil to overcome their enemies so long as they’re not outnumbered more than one to five. It’s also said that there are devils among them, some disguised as men, and some (God help us) dressed up in women’s bodies, too, I think. And if not, how could they have overthrown the cruel and terrible men of the Burg of the Four Friths and chased them out of their town, as we know they did. Hah, what do you have to say about that?”
“I say, Hugh,” Ralph said angrily, “that you are a fool to walk around with a pocket full of slanderous old wive’s tales.”
Hugh laughed. “Don’t be so angry, little lord, or I I’ll be asking you about fanciful tales as well.[3] But listen; I’m sure you’ll smile when you hear this: people are afraid not just of their old enemies—the men led by devils—but they also fear those whom the men led by devils have driven out of their homes—that is, the Burgers. And they fear the Burgers more, because they have beaten some of Higham’s foes—that is, the Westland Barons; they’ve taken some of their strongholds and people say they’re gathering their forces.”
Ralph thought about this for a while, then said: “Brother, have you heard any news from Upmeads, or about the Burgers going there?”
“God forbid!” said Hugh. “No, I haven’t heard from Upmeads since I was stupid enough to leave it.”
“What? Have you had a bad time then?”
“I have had ups and downs,” said Hugh, “but going up has been one rung on the ladder and going down has been three rungs or more. I was in prison for three months for getting my skull cracked in a fight that had nothing to do with me.[4] I spent six months trapped in a town, following my bad luck. I spent two days running from that place, having climbed the wall and swum across the ditch in the night.[5] I served for three months as a squire to a knight who put me in charge watching his wife, whom he was very jealous of, and as payment I was to make love to that with, who (to tell the truth), might have been worth it. I snuck out of that situation, too. I spent ten months living at the edge of the wildwood (and sometimes in it), with some fellows who taught me many things, but not how to keep my hands off of other people’s stuff when I was hungry.
“From there I got taken with some five other men by sergeants from Higham, whom the warriors of the town had sent out to see if they could find men for their ranks. Well, they gave me a choice between the gallows or service of the Church, and so I made my choice and I was there until this evening when I saw your face, fair sir.”
“Well, brother,” said Ralph, “it will all be better now, and you will come back to Upmeads with me. Though it might also be good to better yourself, a bit.”
“I’ll try, brother. But can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Fair Sir,” said Hugh, “you seemed to have grown into a pretty man back when the sun was up and the darkness didn’t make us all look alike, but the men behind us are not the sort to be led by men who have not proved themselves as warriors. Yet they follow you, so how is that? And also, I saw a woman riding near us (though noe she’s just a shadow), she looked so fair and gentle and I’m not surprised she’s following you (though if she is an earl’s daughter then she’s a good catch for an imp from Upmeads) since you’re a handsome lad, little lord, and and a good talker besides. But tell me, who is she?”
“Brother,” said Ralph kindly, “she is my wife.”
“I’ll show her all due respect,” said Hugh. “Of what lineage is she?”
“She’s my wife,” said Ralph.
“That’s a high honor.”
“You speak true words, though you say them as a joke, which is a poor way to treat your brother. But listen, I have become a Friend of the Well and am a match for the daughter of the best of Kings; yet this one is a better match for me than the highest Princess, for she also is a Friend of the Well. Moreover, you say that the champions of the Dry Tree—who would think little of an earl as their leader—are eager to follow me: if you still doubt what that might mean, wait two or three days when you see me in front of my enemy. Then you can tell me how much I have changed from the boy you knew in Upmeads a little while ago.”
Then Hugh was somewhat embarrassed and he said: “I ask your forgiveness, brother, but I never had a smooth tongue, and it’s likely gotten rougher through the hard times I’ve experienced lately. Besides, it was boring there and I needed to get a little amusement out of friends and family.”
“All right,” said Ralph, kindly, “you asked and I answered, and that’s that.”
“But honestly, you have told me one wonder after another.”
“I have,” said Ralph, “and later I’ll tell you more when we are safe in Upmeads, safe and drinking wine.”
Then one of the scouts came riding back, drawing up by Ralph and telling him that they were close to a little town by a steep hill, which marked the beginning of the Down country on that road. So Ralph called to stop and rest there overnight, and they would look for news in the morning. The man told Ralph that the people of the town were fleeing at news of their company approaching, and that it would be best to send some ten men to the town quickly so that it wouldn’t be empty when they came to rest.
Ralph told him to do so, but to make sure that no one was hurt and no fires set, and the man took a group and rode ahead, and Ralph and the rest came on quietly. When they came into the town, there was a big fire set at the crossroads, and the elders standing by with their hats in their hands, and twenty strong men with weapons. Then the chief of them came up to Ralph and greeted him, saying: “Lord, when we heard that an armed company was close at hand, we thought that it must be the riders of the Burg coming to attack us, so we had nothing to do but to run away as far and as fast as we could. But now we have heard that you are a good lord going to help his own people with the help of brave champions, and an enemy of those devils of the Burg. We ask that you look upon us and all we have as yours, lord, and take kindly what we have to offer you.”
The old man’s voice wavered a little as he looked at the dark sign of the Dry Tree, but Ralph looked at him kindly and said: “Yes, my master, we will only ask for a roof over our heads and what food you can easily spare for our silver, and we will give you our thanks as well. But who are these strong lads with staves and bucklers?”
At that, a tall young man with a spear in his hand and wearing a short sword in his belt came forward and said boldly: “Lord, we are a few who heard that the Burg-devils were coming and thought we might as well die in the field, paying them back blow for blow, rather than be dragged off and fall to pieces in the hands of our tormentors. And now that you have come, we have little desire to remain behind, rather we’d like to follow you and see how we can help. And after you have won, we can go back to our people and you may give us a gift, if you’re willing to: but we would not think less if all you gave us was food and lodging with your men for a while in these hard times.”
When he was done speaking, a murmur of appreciation rose up from the Champions, and Ralph was well-pleased with this, seeing it as a good omen. He said: “Fear not, good fellows, that I will forget you when we have overcome the enemy, and until then we will live and die together. But you, elder, show our sergeants where our riders can lie tonight and what they should do with their horses.”
So the elders directed the little group to their lodgings for the night, mostly to a big barn on the western outskirt of the town. The elder who led them there brought them food and good drink, and said to them: “Lords, you should keep a good watch tonight, because it is from this direction that we expect enemies, if they are out tonight. In truth, that’s one of the reasons we’ve put you here, feeling that you would not withhold from us the sense of safety we get knowing such strong men are between us and them, we being poor and our town without walls.
Stephen, to whom he was speaking, laughed and said: “Cheer up, carle! within these few days we will build you a better wall than you can get from stone: we will overthrow our enemies on the field of battle.”
So there was kindness and community between the people of the town and the riders, and the country folk told them about the terrible doings of the Burg-devils, as they called them. But they could not say for certain whether they had gone down into Upmeads.[7]
As for Ralph and Ursula, they—with Richard and Roger—were lodged in the chief’s house, and they had a good meal there and talked over the whereabouts of the Burgers and the townsfolk, but they couldn’t get any certain news. So he and Ursula and his friends went to bed and slept peacefully for the first hours of the night.
Notes:
[1] In a situation where they can’t spare the men to properly hold and defend all the locations they captured, burning some of them so the Abbot’s men can’t use them is a good plan.
[2] Everything up to this point is a single paragraph in the original.
[3] “Or I shall be asking thee tales of marvels also.” I’m not sure about the exact meaning of this… maybe he’s saying “Well, I’m sure you believe some wild stuff, too.”
[4] In Book 2, Chapter 14, Richard said “Lord Hugh is likely to be slain in some empty brawl, unless he come back speedily to Upmeads.”
[5] He describes himself as “besieged” in the town, but it’s hard to tell if he’s being literal or not. The town might have actually been under siege, but he managed to sneak out so it might just mean he got into trouble.
[6a] “I served squire to a knight who gave me the business of watching his wife of whom he was jealous; and to help me out of the weariness of his house I must needs make love myself to the said wife, who sooth to say was perchance worth it.”
[6b] That’s a pretty wild story. “Make love” here could mean sex but it might also just mean romantic interaction. Who knows?
[7] This is the second time (I think) that Upmeads has been described as “down” from the areas south of it, which I discussed my confusion about before.
Book 4
Chapter 20 - They Come to the Gate of Higham By the Way
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Audio
Synopsis:
Ralph finds much has changed in Higham, but reunites with a friendly face.
Summary:
"Look you, man-at-arms, I warn thee that I trust thee not, and deem that thou liest. Now have I mind to issue out and fall upon you: for ye shall be evil guests in my Lord Abbot's lands."
It was just as Ursula had predicted, and they went towards Higham by the shortest road, so that they came to the gate a little before sunset.[1] But they did not come all the way up to the gate, for there were now strong barriers set up around it and armed men within them, as though they were expecting an attack. Among these were bowmen who drew their arrows against Ralph and his group, so Ralph stopped his men and rode up to the barriers with Richard and Stephen a-Hurst, all three with their helmets off and their swords sheathed. Furthermore, Stephen carried a white cloth tied to a sturdy stick.
Then a knight from the town, very well armed, came out from the barriers and went up to Ralph and said: “Fair sir, are you a knight?”
“Yes,” said Ralph.
“Who are you?”
“I am called Ralph of Upmeads,” said Ralph, “and these are my men: we ask to stay in the town of my Lord Abbot tonight, and to be allowed to leave early tomorrow.”
“Oh you unlucky young man,” said the knight, “it seems to me that these men are not so much yours as you are theirs; they are of the Dry Tree, and they wear their sign openly. Will you lodge your group of bandits alongside honest men?”
Stephen a-Hurst laughed harshly at this, but Ralph said mildly: “These men are indeed of the Dry Tree, but they are my men under my command, and they are riding on my business, which is lawful.”
The knight was silent for a moment and then said: “Well, that may be so, but they will not come into this town; the rumors that follow them are too long for honest men to listen to.”
Even as he spoke, one of the armed men roughly shoved through the barriers, pushing past some of his allies, to come up to Ralph and look up into his face with tears in his eyes. Ralph looked for a moment and then reached down to embrace him and kissed his face, for it was his brother, Hugh!
As he did, he whispered in his ear: “Get behind us, Hugh, if you want to come with us.”[2]
So Hugh quickly went towards the group while Ralph turned to the knight again, who said to him: “Who is that man?”
“He’s my brother.”
“I don’t care whose brother he is,” said the knight, “he’s our sworn man. You fools,” he said, turning towards the men in the barrier, “Why didn’t you kill him?”[3]
“He slipped out before we knew what he was doing,” they said.
“Where were your bows, then?”
One man said: “They were pressing too hard on the barrier and we couldn’t string our bows.[4] Besides, how would we shoot him without probably hitting you as well?”[5]
The knight turned toward Ralph, now very angry, and growing even rougher when he saw how Stephen and Richard were grinning. He said: “Fair sir, you have reinforced the old saying that goes ‘Tell me what your friends are, and I will tell you what you are.’ You’ve stolen our man without saying a word about it!”
“Fair sir, it seems to me that you’re saying plenty of words about it. Shall I buy my brother from you, then? I’ve got some money in my pouch.”
The captain shook his head angrily.
“Well, what can I do to appease you?”
“You can turn your horses around and go, all of you.” He stepped back toward the barriers, then came forward again and said: “Listen here, brigand: I don’t trust you and I think you’re lying. I have half a mind to call out my men and attack, for you will do no good while you are in my Lord Abbot’s lands.”[6]
Now at last Ralph grew angry and said: “Come out then, if you want, and we’ll fight you man-to-man. There’s still light on these fair fields, and we’ll give you what you want, despite your rudeness.”
But as he spoke, there came the sound of horns, and spears appeared above the hills. Then all one hundred of the Dry Tree whom the captain had sent after Ralph came pouring down from the hills. The knight looked at them under the shade of his hand, then he saw the Dry Tree on their coats and he turned and quickly got behind the barriers. Once he was back with his own men, he began shouting at Ralph and a bolt and two or three arrows shot out, but no one was hurt.
Richard and Stephen drew their swords, but Ralph called out “Come on, friends, let’s not hang around to argue with these fools who are afraid of what they do not know. We’ll sleep under the stars tonight instead of roofs, but we’ve done so many times before, and we’ll all the closer to our journey’s end tomorrow for it.”
With that, he turned his horse with Richard and Stephen and went back to his own men. There was much laughing and jeering at the Abbot’s men from them, both those who had ridden with Ralph and the newcomers. But they quickly arranged themselves to ride on, and soon they were going around Higham out of bow range, and making for the Down country by the clear light of the moon. The sergeants had gotten a horse for Hugh, and at Ralph’s request he rode beside him as they went, and the two brothers talked together lovingly.
Notes:
[1] Ursula’s prediction was that they would not pass through Bourton Abbas. Also, it seems that Hampton and Higham are not too terribly far away from each other. If I recall correctly, it was around noon when they got to Hampton, they likely spent a few hours there, and then they made it to Higham before sunset. I hesitate to estimate the distance without more detail, but it tracks with what my map shows.
[2] In the original, Ralph calls him “lad” at the end here, which sounds funny since Hugh is older than him.
[3] As a sworn man, Hugh’s defecting is a serious crime, especially going to join the Abbott’s apparent enemies. Oaths were the backbone of medieval society, and breaking one was not to be done lightly.
[4] I believe this means that everyone on guard crowded to the front to see what was going on and that prevented them from working effectively.
[5] Since these are infantry archers, I expect they’re probably using English Longbows, which were shot in volleys against approaching enemies, shooting up high rather than straight forward. This rained down a bunch of arrows over an area rather than individual archers aiming for individual targets. I’m not sure about the effectiveness of the longbow at precise aiming directed at a single target. Of course, I could be wrong about all of this.
[6] The captain calls him “man-at-arms” here, which is a generic term for a fighter or an armed man. This is interesting because typically people call Ralph “fair sir” or refer to him as a knight (and the captain knows he’s a knight), which I take to mean that the captain is saying “Yeah you’re definitely armed and dangerous, but I don’t think you’re really a knight.”
Book 4
Chapter 19 - Ralph Sees Hampton and the Scaur
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Audio
Synopsis:
Ralph and the gang visit the Scaur, and he is given another castle.
Summary:
"By thy leave, fair Sir, we have had a word of those riders and strong-thieves that they have fetched a far compass, and got them armour, and be come into the woodland north of the Wood Debateable. For like all strong-thieves, they love the wood."
In the morning, Ralph got up and went into the main hall of the inn, and even as he entered it the door to the street opened and in came Roger and Richard (who got up very early). Roger was armed from head to foot and wore a surcoat bearing the sign of the Dry Tree, and he called out: “Now, Lord, you should put on your weapons and armor, for you will soon be the leader of an army.”
“Oh,” said Ralph, “have you been successful?”
“Yes,” said Roger, “Stephen a-Hurst brought me to a group of my old friends and we all went to the Captain of the Burg (who is also Captain of the Dry Tree), and told him about your plight. Like the rest of us, he heard about what you did for us that day when you found your happiness,[1] and he made no argument against letting us go and help you. But hold on, my Lord, don’t go thanking him until I tell you everything. The Captain has gotten to thinking like a merchant since living in a town, I think (saints forgive me for saying so!), and he would like to make a deal with you.”
“All right,” said Ralph, smiling, “I think I can guess what he’s after, but go on.”
“I don’t like his offer, not for your sake but for my own. It’s this: that we will ride—you and all of us who will be following you—to the Castle of the Scaur, and there your Lady will sit in the throne as it was in the old days when our Lady and Queen would sit there. There, you are to swear by her that if ever he asks for you to come help the Burg of the Four Friths and the people of the Wheat-wearers, that you will straightaway come armed and with whatever army you can gather; and if you do this we of the Dry Tree will go with you on this homeward journey, and we are yours to use and discard as you wish, be it flood or labor, guarding your walls, or amidst blades and arrows and the fires of war. What do you say—you who are lucky and who has recently grown wise? I will say that though I hope you refuse the offer, for it would be hard on me to see another woman sitting in our Lady’s seat: even more to see her sitting there, who stole her luck.”
Ralph said: “I’d say the captain’s deal is friendly and honorable, and I will gladly agree to it; even more so because without any oath I would never refuse if he sent for me. As for you, Roger, ride with us if you want, and you will be welcome both in our group and at the High House of Upmeads when we come to it.”
Then Roger was silent, but not ashamed, and they heard the sound of horses and the clattering of weapons, and they saw through the open door that three armed men were riding up to the house, and Ralph went out to welcome them. They were fully armed and dressed in bright armor, and their surcoats bore the sign of the Dry Tree, and were tall and warrior-like. They saluted Ralph and he greeted them and told them to come in and have a drink. They did, but they were hardly off their horses before another three arrived, then six more, and more and more until the hall of the Flower de Luce was full of bright steel and clattering armor, and the boys outside watching the horses were excited to see all the strong warriors.[2]
Ursula came down from her room dressed in her finery, and when they saw her they set up a shout of joy that echoed in the rafters. She laughed happily at them and poured them wine until they liked her more than the liquor.
Roger came to Ralph and told him that everyone had arrived. Then Ralph armed himself and the two maidens brought him his horse,[3] and they all mounted and went into the Square. Roger and Stephen a-Hurst organized them as they were chosen to be captains along with Ralph and Richard whom they all knew at least by rumor. Then Roger took out a piece of parchment and read the list of names, and all of them were present, and there were fifty-five of them, not counting Roger and the travelers.
They were a good-looking bunch, and Richard said quietly to Ralph: “If we had a few more like these, I wouldn’t be afraid of whatever enemy we found in Upmeads. In truth, my lord, they’d ride into red Hell as willingly as into our green fields.”
“Fear not, Richard,” said Ralph, “we will have enough.”
So they rode out of the Square and through the streets to the North Gate, and many people were out to look at them, and they called blessings on them as they went, both men and women, for there was a rumor that there was a good Lord and a Friend of the Well riding to save his lands from enemies.
They rode through the lands protected by the Burg, and when they were beyond it they turned aside from the woodland road where Ralph had ridden with Roger before, and they rode a good way until it was past noon, when they came to a tight thicket and there was only a narrow and winding path where they had to ride single-file.
Roger said: “Now, if we were the old Burgers, and the Dry Tree still held the Scaur, we would learn the meaning of a ‘steel dinner;’ if the dead could rise out of their graves and greet our enemies, we would soon have a nice company here.[4] But they caught on eventually and started going around Grey Goose Thicket, as we call it.”
“Well,” said Ralph, “but what if they were lying in wait to attack us? The Burgers might be smarter than they seem, and you might have taught them more than you think.”
“No,” said Roger, “I had ten of our men take the other path and they’ve yet to find any lurkers. Maybe in a month or so, but not yet. But tell me, fair Sir, do you have any idea of where to get more folk who aren’t afraid to cross swords? Richard has been telling me that there are rumors in the air.”
“If my hope is correct, then I expect to get some strong men from the Shepherd Country.”
“Yes,” said Roger, “but I’ll tell you that they have in the past been enemies of the Dry Tree.”
“Well, I think they’ll be friends to me.”[5]
“That’s good then,” said Roger, “they’re strong fighters.”
They talked as they rode, but Roger ignored Ursula, acting as though he didn’t realize she was there, though again and again Ralph would turn to talk to her or help through a rough patch.
At last the brush began to dwindle and soon they were riding out of a little valley or long trench onto a ridge of bare trees, from which they saw a pleasant green plain, in the middle of which was a great heap of grey rocks, rising out of it like a reef out of the sea. And on this reef, climbing up to the very top of it, were the white walls of a great castle, crowned with a huge round tower. At the foot of the ridge was a small group of white houses thatched with straw and scattered over a good section of the plain.
The company halted atop the ridge, and the Champions raised a great shout at the sight of their old fortress; and Roger turned to Ralph and said: “Fair Sir, what do you think of the Castle of the Scaur?”
But Richard broke in: “To me, dear Roger, it seems like a poor strategic decision to leave a stronghold unguarded. Foolish, even.”
“No, no,” said Roger, “we do not need to be too hasty while our chief concern is to organize the folk of the Wheat-wearers and others who live in the Burg now.”[6]
Then Ralph said: “But how do you know that the enemies whom we go to meet in Upmeads are not those Burgers? Have you heard whether they have found new homes among some unlucky people, or are they still roaming? Maybe they will think Upmeads is a good spot to settle.”
Michael a-Hurst said: “If I may, fair Sir, we have heard those riders and bandits have gotten themselves armor and gone around to the woodland north of the Wood Debateable. Like all thieves, they love the woods.”[7]
Roger Laughed: “Yes, we did, friend Michael, back when we were thieves, though now we are lords and gentlemen. But as to your news, I wouldn’t put too much stock in it. We also heard that they had attacked Higham by the Way, and we know that’s not true. Although the Abbot has war in his lands, we know his enemies are the Banded Barons to the West.”
“Yes, yes,” said the Sage, “but could the Burgers not have joined their armies?”
“True,” said Roger, “but I don’t think so. If that were the case, we’d know for sure.”
So they talked and dismounted to let their horses rest, and Ursula spoke with Ralph as they walked across the green grass, saying: “Sweetheart, I’m worried about this.”
“Yes dear,” he said, “why is that?”
“It will be hard for me to go into that grim castle and sit in the seat where before that grey bear of an evil hag sat and threatened me.”
He doted on her and said: “But likely as a Friend of the Well you will overcome this, and the hall will seem different today than it did before.”
She looked around at the warriors as they lay on the grass or lingered by their horses, then she smiled and her face lit up, her cheeks reddened and her eyes lowered and she said: “Yes, that’s true. On that day, there were few men in the hall and they were old and grim-looking. It was a band of women who took me into the town and brought me up into the Castle and abused me there, throwing me into prison. By comparison, these are good people, honest and free. But oh, my heart, look at how frightening those piled rocks are, rising from the plains, and the walls winding among them and that huge tower crowning it! Surely there is no more frightening place in the world.”[8]
He kissed her and laughed cheerfully and said: “Yes, sweetheart, and there will be another change in the folk of the hall when we come this time. You would not be alone there, even without all these champions and Richard and the Sage. How does that sound?”
She turned to him and kissed and touched him, and then they turned back towards their companions, for by this point they had walked a long way along the ridge.
So they got on their horses and rode into the town, where men and women stood around and watched them, and they showed them humble reverence as they passed. So they rode to the outer wall of the Castle, and if it had looked terrifying from the ridge above, it was ten times more imposing when the upper parts were hidden by the grey rocks, as huge and overhanging as they were, and though the sun was bright above them and they were surrounded by their friends, even Ralph felt a sort of dread creep over him. But he smiled cheerfully as Ursula turned her anxious face towards him. They dismounted their horses in the courtyard, for the walled upward path was too steep for hooves.
As they began to climb, even the cheery Champions quieted their noise in the imposing shadow of the stronghold, and Ralph took Ursula by the hand, and she stepped up close to him and said softly: “Yes, it was here that they brought me up, those women, pushing and hitting me; some were going to tear off my clothes but the one who seemed to be in charge said ‘No, leave her until she comes before the ancient Lady, for her clothing and gear may be a sign of where she came from, where she is going, and if she’s a spy.’ So I escaped them for that moment and now I wonder what we will find in the hall when we come to it. It sort of feels like you wake up in bed in the middle of the night, when all is quiet and the moon is shining, and you go out into the hall and as you come back, you get the sense that there is something horrible lying in your spot among the familiar blankets.” She grew paler as she spoke.
Ralph comforted her and forced a look of cheeriness, but inside he was nervous.
So they went up and up until they came to a level place where the main hall and its chambers were built. They stood there catching their breaths in front of the door, which was rather low, and Ursula clung to Ralph and trembled, but Ralph said in her ear: “Take heart, my sweet, or these men—especially Roger—will think less of you, a Friend of the Well. See, there are none to hurt you here, and this is nothing compared to the perils of the desert, and the slaves and the evil lord of Utterbol.”
“Yes,” she said, “but I did not love you as dearly then as I do now. Oh friend, I have become a weak and scared woman, and there is nothing in me but love of you and the love of life because of you—and you do not know all that happened to me in the hall.”
But Ralph turned and called out in a loud, cheerful voice: “Let us enter, friends! I will lead the Champions of the Dry Tree into their own hall and home.” Then he threw the doors open for they were not locked, and strode into the hall, still leading Ursula by the hand, and everyone followed him, the clatter of their armor echoing through the huge building. It was long, but mostly it was broad and very high, so that in the little light that came in, the upper part of the great, vaulted roof was dim and hazy. There was no one in it, no decorations on the walls, no benches or tables—nothing but the huge stone table on the dais and the high seat behind it: and the place truly seemed like the house and hall of a people that had died out all at once because of their evil deeds.
They stood still for a moment once they were fully inside, and Roger stepped up to Ralph and said softly: “The woman is afraid, and all for nothing. If not for the oath, we should have left her in the town. I fear she might bring bad luck to our home with her shivering. Yet our Lady came here when she was first among us, when our Duke found her after she had been thrown out by the Baron of Sunway whom you killed later, and she was wrapped in our Duke’s scarlet cloak and she went up on the dais and turned to let the cloak fall, standing barefoot in her smock just as she had been cast out into the wilderness, and she spread out her hands and called out in a loud voice as sweet as a blackbird in May: ‘May God bless this House and the refuge of the valiant, and the shelter of the unlucky.’“
But Ursula said with a firm voice and rising color as Ralph looked at her, wondering: “Roger, you don’t like me, it seems, but everything I have done I have done in accordance with the will of the Lady who was the Queen of this hall. But tell me, Roger, where is that other one? The she-bear of this crag who sat there in the stone high-seat and roared at and mocked me and gave me into the hands of her jailers, dragging me off to prison where your own Lady rescued me?”
“Lady,” said Roger, “her story is a short one after you last saw her. On the day when we first had the evil news of the killing of my Lady, we were sad at heart and called to mind the ancient crimes against us. Therefore, we seized the ‘she-bear’—as you call her—and her men and women and we killed some and threw out the others. But as for her, I killed her not three feet from where you stand now. There is a rumor that she still walks upon the earth, and that may be so; but you do not need to fear her on a summer afternoon like this.”
Ralph said coldly: “Roger, let’s be done with these ghost stories; take me to the place where the oath is to be sworn; we are short on time.”
The words were barely out of his mouth before Roger walked forward and got up on the dais and went quickly to the wall behind the high-seat, where he picked up a great horn and blew it three times loudly, so that the great hall was full of its echoes. This startled Richard and he half-drew his sword, but the Sage put his hand on the hilt and said: “It’s nothing, let your sword rest.”
Ursula stood shocked, but she was no longer afraid. Ralph seemed unaffected, and the champions of the Tree acted as though they had expected it.
Then Roger said from the dais: “This is a sign that the men of the Dry Tree are gathered for matters of great importance; thus the Mote is hallowed.[9] Come up here, you outsiders, and also you of the fellowship, so that the oath may be sworn and we may move on, as our outsider captain wishes.”
Ralph took Ursula’s hand again, and went up the hall calmly and proudly,[10] and the champions followed with Richard and the Sage. Ralph and Ursula went up to the dais and he seated Ursula in the stone high-seat, and even in the dusk of the hall, she looked bright and beautiful, for she was dressed in a lovely green gown embroidered with flowers, and a green cloak with intricate gold designs; her hair was spread over her shoulders, and on her head was a garland of roses which the women of the Flower de Luce had given her. So there she sat with a beautiful face, from which now all the wrinkles of trouble and fear were gone, looking like an image of the early summer itself. And the champions looked on her in wonder, and one whispered to another that it was their Lady from before come back. Only Roger, who stood at the back of the group, looked at the ground and muttered.[11]
Ralph drew his sword and lay it on the tone table, and he stood beside Ursula and said: “Champions of the Dry Tree, by the blade of Upmeads which lies here before me, and by the head which I love most in the world, and which is most worthy of love” (and here he placed his hand on Ursula’s head), “I swear that whenever the Captain of the Dry Tree calls on me, whether I be eating or drinking, in bed or afoot, at peace or at war, happy or sad, I will do my best to come immediately to aid him with whatever force I can gather. Is this well sworn, Champions?”
Stephen a-Hurst said: “It is sworn well and knightly, and now comes our oath.”
“No,” said Ralph, “I had no intention of making you swear to me; your deeds will prove your loyalty and I have no doubt of your bravery.”
“Yes, Lord, but he told us to swear to you. Please, hand me your sword,” said Stephen.
Ralph held out his sword across the great stone table, and Stephen took it and kissed the blade and hilt, then lifted up his voice and said: “By the hilt and the blade, by the point and the edge, we swear to follow the Lord Ralph of Upmeads for a year and a day, and to do as he commands in all matters. So help us God and all the saints!”
And with that he gave the sword to the others and each one kissed it as he had.
But Ralph said: “Champions, I thank you for this oath, but it is not my intention to hold you to me for a year. I think that I shall do all that my kindred may need within three days of when I first step foot in Upmeads.”
Stephen smiled at him and gave a friendly nod and said: “That may be, but now as we end this mote I will tell you something; that is, our Captain—and all of us as well—a looking to test you at this fray in Upmeads, now that we know you are a Friend of the Well. If you turn out as we think, we will give you this Castle of the Scaur, for you and your descendents, for we think that some such man as you would be the only one worthy to hold it, keeping it as a stronghold against tyrants and for helping peaceful folk. Truly, we of the Dry Tree have heard tales of the Well at the World’s End and believe in its might.”
He finished, and Ralph was silent as he thought this over. But Roger raised his head and broke in: “Yes, yes! We are all men of peace now, we riders of the Dry Tree!” and he laughed, clearly displeased by that.
But as Ralph was gathering his thoughts together, and Ursula was looking at him with a troubled look on her face again, a man from the village came rushing into the hall and called out: “My lords! There are armed men coming from the woods! Save us, please, for we are men of peace!”
Roger laughed and said: “Eh, good man! So you want us back again? Lord Ralph, Richard, and you, Stephen, come to this arrow slit that looks out over the forest. We are high up here and you can see crystal clear. Did you shut the gates, carle?”
“Yes, Lord Roger,” he said, “and some fifty of us have gathered in the courtyard.”
Ralph, Richard, and Stephen looked out from the narrow window and saw a band of men riding down into the village and Ralph, who—as said before—could see both far and clearly, said: “Yes, it is strange, but without a doubt these are riders of the Dry Tree, and it looks like about two hundred of them. Stephen, Roger, what is this? Is your Captain one to give a gift and then take it back… and more beside?” Stephen looked ashamed at this, and Roger hung his head.
But the Sage came up to them and said: “Do not be dismayed, Lord Ralph. What were you going to say to the Champions before this carle came in?”
“That I thank the Dry Tree heartily for its gift, but that it seemed to me unwise to leave this stronghold unguarded until I can come back or send men from Upmeads.”
Stephen’s face cleared at that and he said: “I ask you to trust, lord, that there is no betrayal in our Captain’s heart; and that if there were then I would fight against him and his men on your behalf.” And Roger said similarly, though his voice was gruff.
Ralph thought for a moment and said: “It’s fine; we’ll go down to the gates to meet them so that we can get back on the road to Upmeads quicker.” And without another word he went up to Ursula and took her hand and left the hall, down the rock-cut stair, and they all followed him. When they came into the lower court, Ralph spoke to the men of the village who were huddled together and very afraid, and he said: “Throw open the gates. These riders who have so frightened you are just the Champions of the Dry Tree coming back to their stronghold to protect you from tyrants and oppressors.”
The men looked nervously at each other, but they opened the gates right away, and Ralph and his group went out. The newcomers waited on a little green hill half a bowshot from the Castle. Ralph sat down on the grass and Ursula sat beside him and said: “My heart tells me that these Champions, however rough and fierce they have been and still might be, if it suits them. But O, sweetheart, how dear and sweet is this sunlit grass after that grim castle. Surely, my sweet, we will never go to live there?”
“I do not know, beloved,” he said; “must we not go and live where our actions lead us? The hand of Fate is strong. But look, here they come!”
As they spoke, the whole group of them came up, and they were all of the Dry Tree, strong men and well-armed, and they had ridden very fast so their horses were quite tired. A tall man, very gallantly armed, who rode as their leader, jumped down from his horse and came up to Ralph, greeting him, and both Roger and Stephen showed him respect. Ralph, who had stood up, returned his greeting and the tall man said: “I am the Captain of the Dry Tree, until we find someone better. Are you Ralph of Upmeads, fair sir?”
“I am,” said Ralph
“You are no doubt wondering why I rode so hard after you, so here is the long and short of it: not an hour after you left the Burg, three of my riders brought a man to me who said (and offered proof) that he had met with a group of the old Burgers in the Wood Debateable, which you probably know of.”[12]
“Everyone in Upmeads knows of it,” said Ralph.
“Well,” said the Captain, “among these Burgers—who were content to spend the summer in the woods—talk spread that they would ally with the brigands who stalk those woods and go with them to Upmeads. And from Upmeads, once they gathered their strength, they would attack Higham by the Way, and from there come back to the Burg even stronger. Since I know you’re from Upmeads, and about how you are and what you’ve done, I have come to tell you what’s happening. But if you think I have brought all these riders for you, that is not entirely the case. It occurred to me that our old stronghold was left unguarded, and I wasn’t sure what would happen and we’ve heard reports of another group of Burgers has attacked Higham not far from here; so I brought a hundred men here to hold our Castle of the Scaur, and the rest are to ride out with you. And you’ve already been told that the Scaur and Hampton with it are to be yours; henceforth we are the lords of the Burg of the Four Friths, and that is more than enough for us.”
Ralph thanked the Captain for this and told him that he would accept the gift if he came out of Upmeads alive. He said: “With you and the Wheat-wearers in the burg, and me in the Scaur, no bandits would dare lift a hand in these parts.”
The Captain smiled and Ralph continued: “And now I must ask your permission to go, which is all the more important now since your men have tired their horses and we must go at a softer pace until we come to Higham.”
“So you’re going to Higham, fair sir?” said the Captain. “That is well, for you may get more men there and at the very least it is likely you’ll hear some news. As to my men and their horses, that has been seen to. Five hundred good men of the Wheat-wearers, men who have not yet learned to fight on horseback, are coming through the woods to help guard your castle. They will be here in about three hours and will bring horses for these hundred men, and therefore you can go on to Higham at a gentle pace and if these men catch up to you, keep going, but if not, wait for them at Higham.”[13]
“I thank you again,” said Ralph, “and now I have nothing left to say other than this: that I will come to you at your least request and serve you with all that I have, even if it costs my life. And yet I must say that I do not know why your men are so loyal to me as brothers, though I am an outsider.”
“I can say this: that as said before we feel you have proven your bravery by reaching the Well at the World’s End, and your luck as well. But, moreover, Our Lady would have had you as her friend had she lived, so how could we be less than friends to you?[14] Go in peace, my friend, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
Then he kissed him and bid him farewell, and Ralph called his group to mount their horses and just like that they were in their saddles, and they rode away from Hampton at a leisurely pace.
As they went, Ralph turned to Ursula and said: “And now we’ll probably see Bourton Abbas once more, and the house where I first saw you. Oh, how sweet you were! And I was so happy and so young.”
“Yes,” she said, “and I so longed for you, and now it feels like we have been together for so long, but it has only been a short part of our long lives. But, my friend, as for Bourton Abbas, I’m not sure about our seeing it. There is a closer path by the crossroads to Higham, which these men know and will surely take. I am glad for that, I tell you, that I’m anxious about the town. It seems like it will take hold of me and wake me from a dream.”
“But even then,” said Ralph, “you would find me beside you, as if I had fallen asleep in the tavern and dreamed of the Well at the World’s End, and then woken to see the sweet barefoot maid busying about her house and its matters. That would not be so bad.”
“Ah,” she said, “look at your men and how warlike they are. Oh, I wish that these next few days were behind us, and we had the rest of our lives ahead.”
Notes:
[1] Referring to Ralph killing those two Burgers with the Lady’s help when they met.
[2] These are grooms, i.e. servants who care for horses. I have the idea that they’re usually boys, but that may just be a trope and not historically accurate. I think Ursula’s brother filled this role.
[3] I assume these are the two young women from the previous chapter.
[4] He’s saying that they killed a lot of Burgers here.
[5] Rather than “enemies,” Roger originally calls them “unfriends” which gives parallelism to Ralph’s words. “Unfriend” sounds goofy but was a real word and might still be in some places.
[6] I’m not sure what he means by this.
[7] The Wood Debatable is north of Upmeads and separates it from the Bishop’s lands. Previously, the thieves living in those woods helped Ralph’s father in his time of need. Also, being bandits themselves, the Dry Tree knows how they think.
[8] I’m assuming Ursula’s current feelings are colored by her past experience and the closeness of the Scaur. By all previous measures, Utterbol (where she was also treated badly) should be much scarier. Furthermore, the Water of the Well should have alleviated these lingering sorrows; it doesn’t make sense that she’s so freaked out by it.
[9] I’m preserving the original word because it’s capitalized and will come up again later. “Mote” here refers to meeting, but historically this kind of thing (no pun intended; they were also called “things” and it is from this word that we get our modern usage) was very important and a ceremonial thing. It’s like a council meeting and was where free people in society gathered to discuss things and have legislative judgements made, overseen by a specialist in the law. The term is very old, being used in this sense since before the year 1000, and is where Tolkien’s “Entmoot” comes from. Look for another mote coming later!
[10] This is just an incidental thing, but in trying to find my place again in the story (starting a new session of work), I searched “Ralph took Ursula’s” since I recalled that line being the same in the original, and I noticed that it shows up two times in the story: here, and before when Ralph and Ursula approach the chalice to drink from the Well. I just think that’s interesting.
[11] Roger, come on, man!
[12] As a reminder, this is the woodland north of Upmeads, which separates the country from the Bishop’s lands. Historically, it has been a hideout for brigands, though Ralph’s father is protective of them.
[13] This “three hours” gives some indication of the distance between the Burg and the Scaur, but not much. We don’t know how long after the Captain they left, and since they’re traveling a woodland area there could be a lot of variation in how long it takes to cover any set distance. All it really tells us is that the distance between the Burg and the Scaur takes at least three hours to traverse on horseback at a measured pace.
[14] See previous discussion of the word “friend” in this time period.
Book 4
Chapter 18 - A Change of Days in the Burg of the Four Friths
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Audio
Synopsis:
Ralph and the gang meet the new Burgers and see how their lives have changed.
Summary:
“If it be a murder to slay a Burger, then am I worthy of the gallows.”
There is nothing to tell of their journey until they came out of the thicket and into the fields around the Burg of the Four Friths, and even there they could see that things were better. Although the farmers were mostly the same as who lived in the fields before (since they were mostly not free people of the Burg),[1] but foreigners who fought and worked for them.[2] But, being evening, there were men and women and children who had come out and were walking and playing in the loveliness of early summer, and much more happily than they would have dared do in the past. Moreover, there was hardly a sword or spear seen among them, which Roger disliked somewhat,[3] and Richard said: “It seems to me that the people trust the peace that the Burg a bit too much when there is war not far from their borders.”
But as they got closer, Ralph pointed out to his fellow the gleam of helmets and weapons on the walls, and they saw a watchman on each of the high towers of the south gate, and then Roger said: “No, the Burg will not fall easily, and if a few fools get themselves killed outside it’s not a big deal.”
The people did not let them get to the gate unnoticed, but gathered around them to look at the newcomers, though they did not hinder them. They were good-seeming folk and they seemed to have few troubles weighing on them.
But the travelers were stopped at the gate, the stout guard stopping them and saying: “You’re on the road late, friends. What’s your business?”
Ralph said: “We are peaceful travelers except to those who would attack us. We’re going to Upmeads.”
“Oh?” said the man, “you’re likely to find something other than peace between here and Upmeads, for the rumors run that there are foreign riders in the lands of Higham, and the fighting might spread elsewhere. Well, if you will go to the Flower de Luce and stay there tonight, we’ll give you a pass to remain here until morning.”
Then Ralph said something in Roger’s ear and Roger indeed his head, throwing back his hood and going up to the guard and saying: “Stephen a-Hurst, do you have time to talk with an old friend?”[4]
“Oh, Roger,” said the man, “is that really you? I thought you’d run off and were living in the wilds.”
“So I was, lad,” said Roger, “but times change from good to bad and back again, and now I am part of this good lord’s company. And I tell you this, Stephen, that though there may be few of us today, his allies will be the lucky ones in the coming days if there is war in the land. Listen, Stephen, this is the Child of Upmeads,[5] whom you have likely heard of, and if you will sit with me in your room in the tower, I will tell you things about him that you don’t know.”
Stephen turned to Ralph and bowed, then said: “Fair Sir, there are stories going around about you, some of which are quite strange, though none are bad. I think by your appearance that you will be a strong champion and a good leader, and I think you will bring me good luck, if I follow you. Now, if you so please, go on with your fellows to the Flower de Luce, and leave my old companion with me so I can hear what he has to say. I can tell that you want to ask us for something, and since—as I’m sure by your appearance—that you would not demand from us ignobly, we will try to grant you what you wish.”
“Yes, Lord Ralph,” said Roger, “you can leave all the business talk to me, and I’ll come by early tomorrow and let you know how things have gone. I think that we may ride out the gates better than we came in.”
So Ralph let him go and thanked the guard and rode on with the others towards the Flower de Luce, and as the sun had just set Ralph noted that the booths were better set up and the houses were brighter and more beautifully decorated than before. As for the people, they seemed like they were celebrating a holiday, as joyous and well-dressed they were. The women who looked like the slaves from before were dressed brightly and well. They came to the great square and they saw that the masons and builders had begun improving the church, and the people were hanging out in the streets. There were some armed men among them, but most of these wore the sign of the Dry Tree.
So they entered the Flower de Luce and had a good welcome there, as if they had come home to their own house, for when the people saw such a good old man as the Sage and such a strong and well-kempt knight as Richard, and above all when they saw the loveliness of Ralph and Ursula, they praised them freely and doted on them.
When they had eaten and rested, two of the serving girls came and asked if they could speak with them Ralph laughed and told them to sit and eat a little, and they accepted, blushing, being both pretty and young, and Ralph’s face and his cheerful words stirred their hearts. But in truth they did not speak so much as Ursula and the Sage, for Ralph was somewhat quiet while he thought about the coming days and what he thought was happening in Upmeads.
But when they at last found their words, they said that there was already a rumor going around that there were people in the Burg who had drunk the Water of the Well at the World’s and; and one said: “It is a great thing to see you folk coming back victoriously, and I think that most of us would like you to stay here tomorrow and maybe longer, Lady, for we are as happy as can be having come into our new lives: some of us from terrible slavery (as I was), and some of us from the daily threat of it (like my sister here). So maybe,” she said, smiling, “none of us shall seek to the Well until we have worn out our present bliss.”
Ursula smiled at her, but the Sage said: “Maybe I’m asking the wrong person, you being a fair young woman, but what would happen if the Burgers came back to retake the town?”
The woman who had been a slave paled at these words, but the other one said: “If the Burgers come back, they will find those who bested them watching from the walls. You might think I am fair and gentle, old wise man, but I thrust my weapon at the enemy, and if it is murder to kill a Burger, then I am worthy of the gallows.”
“Yes, yes,” said Richard, laughing, “you have twice the manpower in this good town; you may win, unless the sight of you ignites the flames of vengeance in your foe.”
The Sage said: “That is good, young woman, and if you hold on to that and keep your men on the same road, you will not need to fear the Burgers. Indeed, I think that before long you will have both war and victory.”
Then Ralph seemed to wake up from a dream and he stood up and said: “You are right, Sage, and to my eyes it seems that both you and I shall play a part in this war and victory.” And with that he began striding up and down the hall while the two young women sat looking at him with gleaming eyes and flushed cheeks.
But in a little while he came back to his seat and sat down, and began talking with the women and asked them about the town and the buildings, the markets and how they were doing, and they and two or three of the townsmen or merchants answered all his questions, and they told him how good their situation was and how they were all doing well. Ralph was happy with that, and they sat talking together until the night was wearing on and they all went to bed.
Notes:
[1] This doesn’t mean they were slaves like the Wheat-wearers; under feudalism you could also be a serf, a peasant farmer who was hereditarily bound to a plot of land. In such a case, your family would work the land for generations, paying a quota to whomever happened to own the land at the time. If your Lord got overthrown, you started paying whoever overthrew them. Mostly you just hoped that whoever was in charge didn’t demand too much of your crop so you still had stuff to eat and that they would protect you from bandits.
[2] And “foreigner” (originally “aliens”) doesn’t mean they came from another country as we think of it, just an area that’s not nearby (which may be culturally different). Ralph and Ursula were such foreigners in Cheaping Knowe and beyond.
[3] Although the Burgers were bad people, these weapons would have been used by these farmers to protect themselves from brigands (i.e. The Fellowship of the Dry Tree). Roger is once again missing the good old days playing cops and robbers (i.e. terrorizing) with the peasants around the Burg. I think Roger (and the Dry Tree in general) sees them as Burgers, since they served them, even though these people wouldn’t have had much of a choice. If they left the Burgers’ employ, they would have likely have had to turn to banditry (which the Dry Tree would have seen as a suitable course of action, though the peasants would have considered a terrible crime).
[4] My reading of “a-Hurst” is “a-” being the prefix meaning “away” or “over in” and “Hurst” being an old word for “forest,” making this name mean like “in the woods” or “off in the woods.” Think of it like the word “afield” but with more trees.
The gang finds a familiar hermit living in the woods.
Summary:
"What, man!" said Ralph, "then be of better cheer, and come thou with us, and may be the old steel of the champions may look on the sun down in Upmeads."
They spent so much time with the talking and feasting that—although they had hoped to reach the hermit’s house that night—dusk fell before they were very far from the Plain of Abundance and they had to stop and wait for the dawn. So they made camp as well as they could and slept under the thick branches.
Ralph awoke around sunrise and looked up to see a man standing over him. At first he thought it was Richard or the Sage, but as his vision cleared he saw that it was someone else: a stout man dressed in brown with a large staff in his hand and a short sword in his belt. Ralph jumped up but was still not entirely away and called out: “Who are you?”
The man laughed and said: “Yes, you are the same quick lad, only a bit more warrior-like than before. But it is bad to forget old friends. How could you be so rude?”
“Because I don’t know you, sir,” said Ralph. But even as he spoke he looked at the man’s face again and cried out: “By St Nicholas! It’s Roger of the Ropewalk! But if I have filled out some, then you (who always had a black beard) are now as hairy as a woodwose. What are you doing in the wilderness?”
“Did they not tell you of a hermit in these parts?”
“Yes,” said Ralph.
“I am that holy man,” said Roger, grinning; “not that I am much of a holy man. I have not come here to pray or fast, but to rest my soul and be away from people, for all things have changed since my Lady passed away.”[1] He looked around and saw Ursua just standing up and the Sage stirring, while Richard still hugged his makeshift bed and snored. So he said: “And who are these? And what are you doing in the wildwood? Ah, lad, I see you have gotten another Lady; and if I see right she is pretty enough. But there are others as pretty as her, though none as pretty as our lost Lady.”
He fell silent a while and Ralph looked to the others, and by this time Richard was also awake. He said: “This man is the hermit we were told about.”
Roger said: “Yes, I am the hermit and the holy man; and I have something to tell you and would like to hear your story as well. You should come with me to my house in the woods. It’s a poor one, but there is some food there and we can talk and listen with a roof over our heads. Get to horse, my good people.”
They did not need to be told twice, and so they mounted up and went along with him, who led them through the thicket for about a mile until the came to an open area crossed by a stream; and there was a little house in it, simple and one room, made of rough tree-limbs and reeds. He brought them in and gave them stools or bundles of things to sit on, being all he had. But he brought them food which good, though simple, being things hunted and gathered from the wood, and some small cakes he baked on his hearth. He also poured wine and milk for them.
They were happy with this banquet, and when they were full, Roger said: “Now, my Lord, as is often the case with performers, you have had your payment before your work. Get started then, and pay me back by telling me all that has happened to you since my Lady died.”
“‘All’ is a big word,” said Ralph, “but I can tell you some. But I ask that you take note that I and this old wise one and my Lady all feel that I am being called back to my family to help them, and that time is short.
Roger scowled a little at Ursula, but he said: “Lord and master, don’t let that affect your story. It seems to me that whatever time you lose by talking with me, you might gain back twice over by listening to my tale and the advice that goes with it. And I’ll remind you that you telling your tale will get you mine, so do not hesitate if you need to get on quickly, but get to telling!”
Ralph smiled, and without more delay he told all that had happened to him; he told about Swevenham and Utterbol, and his captivity and escape, and of the meeting in the wood, and of the Sage, and of the journey to the Well, and what happened since, and of the death of the Champion of the Dry Tree.[2]
When he was done, Roger said: “There it is, then. Just like I said when she told me to bring you to her, first to the Burg and then the Castle of Abudnance—I forget by what lies—but I said to her that she had set her heart on a man who was too lucky, and that you would take her luck and make it your own. But now I will let all that pass, and tell you to ask what you want. I promise that I will help you on your way to your family, so that you might use your luck on their behalf.”
Ralph said: “First of all, tell me what I should do to pass through the Burg of the Four Friths without trouble.”
“Go in one gate and out the other; no one will trouble you there.”
“Will the Dry Tree cause any problems?”
Roger swallowed as if struggling with something difficult, then answered: “No, none.”
“And the folk of Higham by the Way, and the Brethren and their Abbot?”[3]
“I don’t know much about them,” said Roger, “but I think that they will try to get you to be their captain, since they have had war on their hands lately. But it’s up to you to accept or decline them. As for the rest on this side of the shepherd’s country, you’ll find nothing but peaceful folk.”
“Yes, said Ralph, “and what about the pride and the cruelty of the Burg of the Four Friths, and the eager fierceness of the Dry Tree?”
Roger said: “This is the story of it: After the champions of the Dry Tree lost their beloved queen, the Lady of Abundance, they were restless and fierce, and the days of sorrow hung heavy on them. Eventually, the company had a reckless clash with the Burgers and came out the worse for it, and some of them retreated to the Scaur and the others kept going, further west than usual, though carefully once they were out of the Wood Perilous. Riding like this, they caught wind of a group from the Burg of the Four Friths resting in a valley with a great group of captives and animals and other loot. They had come from their war against the Wheat-wearers and had killed many of the men there, and they were bring back many young women and girls to the Burg as was their habit.
“So the company of Dry Tree heard about this and thought it would ease their sorrow at the loss of their Lady if they could make those sons of whores[4] pay and give the Burg a black eye. So they hid until night and then under the cover of darkness they attacked the lazy Burgers and beat them easily, though they were very outnumbered. Most of them were killed, but some escaped and got back to the Burg, as happens even in the most one-sided battles.
“Well, there were the champions and their loot, much of which were women who were mostly young and pretty, for the women of the Wheat-wearers are beautiful and are often picked out by the rutters of the Burg[5] for their youth and strength and beauty. And since the men of the Dry Tree have few women back home and were sore-hearted because of our Lady, they did not push the women away but talked with them and flirted with them in a courteous way, and the women thought they were in heaven and were ready to do anything to help their rescuers. So at the end of it, the Champions sent messengers to Hampton and the Castle of the Scaur to tell them what had happened, and they took the land of the Wheat-wearers, taking them women with them not as captives, but as free people.
“The road to the Wheat-wearing country was long, and on the way the women told their new men many things about their land and their wars with the Burg and the pains they suffered from them. And they told them how the men of the Burg slew all the males, even babies, and spared only the women, even if they didn’t take them captive.
“‘And so,’ said the women, ‘it happens that our land has few men so that we women, both noble and poor, go out and do many things, crafting and such, which in other lands is done by men.’ It seemed to the men that the women were both stronger and more dexterous than most women usually are. So the champions, halfway joking, told them to put on the armor of the slain Burgers and take their weapons, and they taught them how to handle staves and swords and bows; the women were encouraged by their new loves’ bravery, took it very seriously, and they learned quickly. And just in time, too, for the runaways of the Burg got home and wasted no time sending out another group to follow the Champions and their loot, for they had learned that the men had not gone back to Hampton after their victory, but gone on to the Wheat-wearers.
“So the host of the Burg caught up to the Champions on a summer evening when there were about three hours of daylight left. But they expected to have an easy fight since they knew how few the Champions were, but they found the hillside covered in with a good array of spears and glaives and shining helmets. They were surprised, but partly out of shame and partly out of momentum, they could not stop their assault, and before the sun set they were scattered in every direction, and the survivors had to carry the news back to the Burg that most of their enemies had been the women of the Wheat-wearers; but this time only a few made it back because the freed captives were quick to chase them, throwing aside their shields and chainmail so they could go faster, and reckoning it a fair trade if they could give their life for just one or two of their tyrants.
“So the Burg was hoisted by its own petard, but it did not stop there. When that victorious army of men and women came to the land of the Wheat-wearers, all the men fled at first, thinking it was another attack by the men of the Burg, even more so because they were dressed in their weapons and armor. But when they learned the truth, they were filled with the greatest joy and the men and women both ran to arm themselves and asked their rescuers to teach them everything they could about fighting, and they declared that they would be free of the Burg from then on, or die fighting for their freedom. The Champions were happy to teach them and they put together a huge army, and meanwhile the Champions sent messages to Hampton telling what had happened and asking for more men if available. But the people of the Burg were not ones to lie down and die, and they sent another group against the Wheat-wearers, not as big but well-armed and very skilled. The Champions caught wind of this and knew that they were going to be dealing with the best men of the Burg and they came at them the same way, picking the very best of the men and women and setting up in a place where they would be well-defended and waiting for the enemy there.
“It was a long and bitter battle, and the Burgers were fierce and not foolishly headstrong this time, but the Wheat-wearers knew that if they faltered at this point, they would have something worse than death ahead of them. And in the end, when both sides were exhausted and neither would retreat, the men sent from the Dry Tree came, a valiant group of riders who saw battle as a game to play.[6] Then the men of the Burg broke and retreated, but they were barely pursued except by the newly arrived men of the Dry Tree, for the others were too tired and their captains warned their newly-trained warriors about leaving their place of advantage in case the experienced fighters of the Burg should turn back and kill them.
“They expected battle again the next day, but none came to them, for the men of the Burg saw that there was more to lose than gain, so they retreated to their own lands. Nor did they trouble the places they returned through, for the riders of the Dry Tree followed right behind them and killed any who did not keep pace or strayed from the group.
“When they were gone, then at last the Wheat-wearers gave themselves up to the joy of their deliverance and the pleasure of their new lives. I spoke with one of their old men who told me that before they were little more than slaves to the Burg, and did not dare raise a hand against their enemies, and so the men were slow to fall in love and the women—despite their beauty—were cold and rarely kind. However, now in the fields of the wheat-wearers they were all changed, and the men and women took to dressing brightly and there was singing and dancing on the village parks and couples sneaking off together on the summer nights, and simply put the god of love was busy in the land and made their eyes seem bright, their lips sweets, their breasts fair, their arms slim, and their feet dainty. So every hour was full of seduction and the closer the war was, the more the men and women delighted in each other’s bodies.
“Well, before long the Wheat-wearers were so full of hope that they told the men of the Dry Tree to lead them against the Burg of the Four Friths, and the Champions were happy to, knowing that since so many of them had left Hampton, the men of the Burg might attack it, and if not capture it at least lay siege and make life hard for their fellowship.
“So they got to it, wisely and deliberately, and led a group of the best men with them, charging the women with keeping their lands safe, and so their group was not very large. But they were so careful that they came up close to the Burg unnoticed, though it seemed unlikely that they would take such a well-defended place. Yet that is exactly what happened, for the Burg-dwellers, overcome with cruelty and bitter anger, declared that they would now at last put an end to those cursed people, and the whoreson bandits who were their allies. So they poured out of their gates as a great multitude, but with worse organization than usual, and a thing happened to them which sometimes happens to even the bravest men: at the last moment their courage failed them, and they broke and ran before they crossed spears, and in such disarray that the gates could not be shut and their enemies came in, killing them with ease.
“And within an hour, the proud Burg of the Four Friths had totally fallen. It was a huge slaughter, for the Wheat-wearers had many griefs to avenge against them, nor were the men of the Dry Tree either layabouts or saints to be careless with their enemies or show them mercy in battle, but at last the killing stopped. Then the men of the Wheat-wearers went from house to house in the town to find the women of their people who had been made slaves by the Burgers. Then there were many joyful reunions between those poor women and the men of their kinfolk: their days of slavery and work and mocking and whippings were forgotten, and in time they came to their people dressed in green and draped in flowers and full of joy at their rescue, and they had a great feast.
“As for the people of the Burg, once the battle was over, no more were killed, except for some of their leaders who were made a head shorter. But the Champions and the Wheat-wearers said that none of those bitter and cruel people should live in the town any longer, so after a delay long enough to put together supplies for their journey, they were all kicked out: rich and poor, old and young, man, woman, and child. They left proudly and with brave faces, for now their courage had come back to them. It’s likely that we will hear about them often, for though they had few weapons when they were driven out, and no armor, they are skilled in the way of war and their pride is so great that they will get weapons somehow and even if all they have is sticks and clubs they scrounged from the forest, I feel bad for whatever peaceful folk they come across first. Yes, fair sir, the day shall come, I think, when people will ask you to lead the hunt for these starving wolves, and when you do, call on me to tell you stories of their past actions which will make your heart hard and your hand heavy against them.”[7]
“In the meantime,” said Ralph, “what has happened to the Fellowship of the Dry Tree? It seems to me that you bear some sadness about them.”
Roger was silent for a few moments and then said: “I’m sad because Hampton is no longer a house of warriors. Two or three men and a dozen women live now in the halls and chambers of the Scaur. Here on earth, it’s all over. God send us on to the afterlife!”
“How’s that?” said Ralph. “Has there been some overthrow, worse than what happened to the Burg?”
“No,” said Roger doggedly, “that’s not it.”
“Then where is the Fellowship?”
“They have scattered,” said Roger, “Some of the Dry Tree have no heart to leave the women whom they wooed in the Wheat-wearer’s land, and a great many of them have taken their dears to live in the Burg of the Four Friths, and many of the Wheat-wearers came to wed the former slaves of the Burgers, of whom there were about two thousand alive after the Burg was taken, plus the women and men who came from their own land.
“So now there is a mixture of people living in the Burg: the former slaves, the men and women who came from the land of the Wheat-wearers, the men of our Fellowship (most of whom have now married women of the Wheat-wearers), and other merchants and craftsmen who have drifted into the town after hearing how wealthy it was and how many beautiful unmarried women there are.”
“Is that so bad?” asked Ralph.
“It is bad enough to me that there is no longer a true Fellowship of the Dry Tree, even if the men of that fellowship are still alive.”
“Why not make a new fellowship in the Burg where they can live in peace now that they’ve overcome their enemy?”
“That’s true… and so is this: they are a strong group in the Burg and have a captain of their own and they are greatly respected by the peaceful folk. Furthermore, although they do not torment the weak or put an end to merry-making today to preserve their happiness tomorrow, they are now organized well within the Burg and it will be no easier for an enemy to overthrow it than it was before.”
“See?” said Ralph, “then buck up! And come with us, and let the old steel of the champions see a sunset in Upmeads. Come with me, I say, and show me and my luck to some of your friends in the Burg and it may be that when you have told my story to them, some of them might decide to let their beds lie cold for a while and come help a Friend of the Well in need.”
Roger sat silently and thought about this while Richard and the Sage worked to convince him.
At last he said: “Well, so be it. But I say that I will not give up my hermitage and holiness forever. Come over here, wise man of Swevenham, and I will tell you why.”
“Yes,” laughed Ralph, “and when he has told you, don’t tell me. I am sure that going with us is the right thing, and that he’s doing it for the wrong reasons.”
Roger looked sideways at him and went outside with the Sage, and when they were out of earshot he said: “Listen, I would have happily gone with him at the first word, except for the woman that follows him. Everything she does reminds me of our late Lady, and so I will loath being with her and her beauty and her body. It seems to me that she has taken my Lady’s luck, and if not for her my Lady might still be alive.”[8]
And the Sage said: “Well, my lord did say that you would give me a fool’s reason! Don’t you know—you who knew the Lady of Abundance so well—that she is the one who ordained that Ursula should be with Ralph when was gone from him, dead or alive. That she should also be a Friend of the Well so that he might have a companion for his whole life? And so you still say this, not knowing our Lady and how he loved her with her innermost heart.”
Roger hung his head and said nothing for a while, and then at last: “Well, wise man, I have said that I will go on this adventure, and I will keep my tongue civil for now at least, and whatever happens after, let it happen. And now we should get to horse; between the food and the storytelling, we have only a little time before noon. Go tell your lord that I am ready. I say goodbye to peace, and welcome war!”
So the Sage went inside and came out with the others and they mounted their horses. Roger went on foot and led them through the thickets and trees without trouble, and they lay down that night on the far side of the Swelling Flood.[9]
Notes:
[1] Historically, hermits were religious folk who lived alone as a sort of solo monasticism, not just people who shunned human contact. Roger isn’t doing this for religious reasons, but the people of the Plains of Abundance assume he is. I think the monk that the Lady summoned to take care of Walter the Black by the Water of the Oak was a hermit of this type.
[2] Funny to me that it specifies he tells everything after he says he can’t tell the whole story.
[3] I was curious and did some searching and noticed something odd. Higham’s mentioned in three separate groups throughout the story. At first it’s “Higham-on-the-Way,” then the middle group is a couple of mentions of “Higham on the Way” and then here at the end it’s “Higham by the Way”
[4] That’s the original phrase.
[5] “Rutter” could mean a few different things, but I suspect it is one of the following here: a mercenary or soldier, particularly German cavalry; or a euphemism for “penis.” Given his hatred of the Burg, it could very well be either.
[6] This reminds me of Gandalf showing up to Helm’s Deep with the scattered Rohirrim to turn the tide against the Orcs.
[7] I really appreciate Roger’s (and the Champions of the Dry Tree’s) attitude of “Well, you’re not my problem anymore. Good luck, society!”
[8] I tried to do some research about this recurring concept of one person taking another’s luck (even incidentally) but ran into issues during research (i.e. I get a bunch of modern superstition websites). I know the concept of the Wheel of Fortune was prominent in the Middle Ages, which personified luck and fate as a goddess with a wheel who raised up individuals before letting them fall back into poverty/misfortune. It may be related to that? Perhaps Roger thinks that after Ursula and the Lady met, Lady Luck moved on from the Lady, letting her fall and passing her gifts on to Ursula.
[9] I like Roger’s self-pity that all his war-loving frat bros have gotten married and settled down. And I also like Ralph’s suggestion of “Well, what if you still had a club, but instead of killing and robbing you just hung out?”
Book 4
Chapter 16 - They Come to the Castle of Abundance Once More
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Audio
Synopsis:
Ralph returns to the Castle of Abundance, bringing news both bad and good.
Summary:
"Fair sir, ye have brought us heavy tidings, and we know not how to ask you to tell us more of the tale. Yet if thou might'st but tell us how the Lady died? Woe's me for the word!"
When they rode on the next morning, Ralph said little and seemed to pay little attention as long as they were making good time. Most of the talk was between Richard and the Sage, with Ralph only speaking when it would have been rude not to.
So they went on through the wood until they came out at the Water of the Oak as the sun fully in the west,[1] and Richard stopped there and said: “Here is a good place to rest on a summer night, and I would bet that both a good knight and a fair lady have laid here before and wished it would stay dark longer. Should we rest here?”[2]
Ralph stared at him in astonishment, and anger grew on his face a little because Richard and the Sage both knew where the slaying of the Lady had happened, and because he remembered every step along the way, that they should also know what had happened here: but it was not so, and to Richard, the place was like any other stretch of woodland grass.
But that thought came back to Ralph in a moment, and he smiled at his own foolishness. However, he could not spend another night there with anyone else than he had before, and so he said: “No, friend, shouldn’t we make the most of the day? There’s still an hour before sunset.”
Richard nodded in agreement and the Sage made no comment, but Ursula looked at Ralph anxiously as though she understood his feelings; and with that, the three of them rode on easily, but Ralph turned away from the oak tree slowly, and could not help looking at the short stretch of grass around, as if he hoped to see some sign left for him. Then he lifted his face as though waking up, shook his reins, and rode after the others along the lake.
So they soon turned away from the lake and entered the woods again, and they laid down that night by a stream that flowed to the west.
They got up early the next morning, and since the Sage knew the woodlands very well, they quickly reached the Castle of Abundance, and came into the little plain just two hours before noon where—except that the grass was uncut in the pastures where the sheep were not grazing—everything was the same as it had been before. The folk were at work in their gardens or herding their animals among the streams, and as before they were cheerful and well-dressed, fair and nice to look at.
There were the pleasant cottages and the little white church and the fair walls of the castle on its little hill, and the day was bright and sunny just like before. Ralph looked at all of it and made no sign that it affected him.
So they came out of the woods and rode to the ford of the river, and the men and women came streaming out of their gates and fields to meet them, gathering round and staring in wonder. An old man came from the group and went up to Ralph and called to him: “Oh, Knight! Have you come back to us? Have you heard news of our Lady? Who is this fair woman that rides with you? Is it her?”
Ralph said: “No, look closely and tell me what you think of her.”
So the man went up to Ursula and looked closely at her face, and he took her hand and looked at it, and he knelt down and took her foot out of the stirrup and kissed it, and then came back to Ralph and said: “Fair Sir, if it’s not her, it could be her sister. So tell me what has happened to her, for it has long since we have seen her, and we will believe whatever you tell us as though you were her angel.[3] I say to you, it has been nearly two years since we last saw you, when you were waiting for our Lady at the castle But now I see that you are bright-faced,[4] and mightier-looking than before, and to me it seems that the Lady of Abundance must have loved you and helped you and blessed you with some great blessing.”
Ralph said: “Old man, can you feel sorrow and can you withstand it?”
The old man shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said, “I fear your words.
“I must tell you the whole truth, and it is this: that you will never see your Lady again. I was the last living man to see her alive.” Then he said in a loud voice: “Mourn, ye people, for the Lady of Abundance is dead. But I am sure that she would tell you to live in peace and love the works of the earth.”
When they heard him, the old man covered his face with his robe and all the people began to cry, calling out: “Woe for us! the Lady of Abundance is dead!” and some of the younger men threw themselves down on the ground and wallowed, crying and sobbing, and there was no man that seemed to know what to do or where to go, and their faces were foolish with sorrow. But it was mostly the men and not the women who mourned this way.
At last the old man said: “Fair sir, you have brought us terrible news, and we do not know how to ask for more of the story. But could you tell us how the Lady died? Curse my tongue for asking!”
Ralph said: “She was killed with a sword.”[5]
The old man stood up stiff and straight and his eyes glittered under his white hair. Anger changed his face, and the other men gathered around to hear what was going to be said.
He said: “Tell me who it was that killed her, and I will kill him or die trying.”
Ralph said: “Know that you cannot kill him. He was a great and powerful man, a baron whose sign was a golden sun on a blue field. You cannot kill him.”
“But I will, or he will kill me.”
“Live in peace,” said Ralph, “for I killed him then and there.”
The old man was quiet for a while, then said: “I know the man; he has been here before and not all that long ago. But if he is dead, he still has a brother, a strong man who will be coming to hurt and oppress us.”
“He will not stir from where he lies until the Earth’s bones are broken, for my sword was in his body yesterday.”
The old man stood silently again, and the other men crowded around him, but the woman stood at a distance, staring at Ralph.[6] Then the elder came up to Ralph and knelt before him, kissing his feet, then turned and called three others to him who were the strongest, and they spoke for a while. Then he came to Ralph again and knelt again and said: “Lord, you have come to us and found us comfortless, for we have lost our Lady. But we see in you that she has loved you and blessed you, and you have killed her murderer and his brother. Furthermore, we see that you are a good lord, and so it would be of great comfort to us if you would be our Lord! We will serve you honestly to the best of our ability, and even if you are attacked by enemies we will take our bows and staves down from our walls and stand with you to fight. Only, do not ask us to leave this place: we know nothing but the Plain of Abundance and the edges of the wood and the Brethren of the House of the Thorn, who are not far from here. We ask in the memory of your ancestors that you do not deny us this, as sad as you have made us. Also we see around your neck the beads which our Lady often wore, and we think that you and her must have entwined your stories.”
Then Ralph was silent for a time, but the Sage said: “Old man, how great is the loss of the Lady to you?”
“It is a heavy loss, wise old man,” he said, “as you yourself know, having known her.”[7]
“And what did she do for you?” asked the Sage.
“She was gracious to us, never set on us a tax or quota, and she would often give to us from her store of goods, and did so abundantly. We also think that when she came to us our harvests were greater, which can be demonstrated by how harsh the seasons have been in her absence.”
The Sage smiled a little, and the old man went on: “But mostly the blessing was to see her when she came to us: for truly it seemed that where she set her feet, the grass grew greener, and that the flowers bloomed more beautifully where her shadow fell.” And with that, the old man started crying again.
The Sage said nothing and Ralph kept quiet, and of the men, the younger ones were looking at Ursula.
After a while, Ralph said: “Oh elder, and you folk of the People of Abundance, it is true that your late Lady loved me, and it is through her that I became a Friend of the Well. It seems to me that though you have lost your Lady (whom you loved dearly as she deserved), you have no need for a new ruler, since you live here in peace and quiet and fulfillment, and the Fathers of the Thorn are good to you. But if you truly desire a ruler, I will be your Lord to honor the memory of the Lady who is gone. As time passes I will come and listen to your needs and if you fear that any enemies threaten you, send a message to me, Ralph of Upmeads, down by the water, and I will come to you with what strength is needed.[8] As for your service, I ask only that you look after the Castle and keep it in good condition, and protect it from thieves. Let any wandering knights or pilgrims honest men who come to you lodging there. Now I have said all I have to say, and I ask that you let us go in peace, for time presses.”
Then they all (this time the women, too) called out in joy: “Hail to our lord! and long life to our guardian!” And the women gathered around him and some came close as if they would touch him or kiss his hand, but they did not, but stood blushing beside him and he looked at them, smiling kindly.
But the old man put a hand on his knee and said: “Lord, won’t you come and enter your Castle? No one has more right to it than you do. The prior of the Thorn has told us that the Lady has no family left to claim it, and no one could have claimed it but the Baron of Sunway, whom you have killed. And we would have killed him, since he killed our Lady.”
Ralph shook his head and said: “No, old friend and new vassal, this we cannot do. We must move on quickly, for we are needed at home.”
“Yes, Lord,” said the man, “but at least come and sit for a while under this fair oak tree in the heat of the day, and eat a little and drink some, so that your luck will stay with us once you are gone.”
Ralph would not deny him this, so they all got off their horses and sat down on the green grass under the oak, and the people gathered around and sat with them, except that many of the women went to their houses to get food and drink. Meanwhile, the men spoke openly with the travelers and told them about their little land, whether it was rumor or the truth, and told stories about the wights that dwelled in the woods, the wodehouses, elf-women, dwarfs, and such, and how frightening it was to deal with these creatures.[9] Among other matters, they told how a hermit, a holy man, had come to live in the woods in a clearing a little way to the north-west. But when Ralph asked if he lived on the way to the crossing at the Swelling Flood, they did not know what he meant, for to them the wood was like a wall.
The Sage spoke to one of the young men and taught him what he could of the path to the Burg of the Four Friths, so that they could send a messenger to Upmeads if they needed to. But the country youth said that there was no need to do so, as none of their people would dare journey through the woods, and if they needed to send a messenger, one of the Fathers of the Thorn would do the errand, for they were holy men and knew the ways of the world.
In this time the people seemed to regain their courage and cheer, and to have overcome their grief for the Lady, and the young women—two or three of which were very beautiful—stood looking at Ralph as if very fond of him.
During this, women came back with food: bread in baskets, cheeses both fresh and aged, honey, wild strawberries, eggs cooked various ways, roasted lamb on white wooden skewers, and plenty of good salad. All of these were brought first to Ralph and Ursula, and then to their two companions, and then shared among the other folk. They all feasted and were happy, despite the sad story that had been brought to them. They also brought bowls and pitchers of good, strong wine, and cider from their orchards, and many toasts were made in honor of their new Lord and his family.
They stayed and ate until the sun was in the west and the shadows grew long around them, and then at last Ralph got up and called for his horse, and the other travelers rose as well as the horses were led to them. Then the young women, emboldened by the joy of the feast and stirred by looking at their beloved Lord, overcame their shyness and crowded around him and kissed his clothes and hands. Some even—trembling more from love than fear—asked him for kisses, and he laughed cheerfully and laid his hands on their shoulders or lifted their chins and put his lips to their cheeks and lips, both for those who asked and those who were too shy. With this, their hearts wavered for love of him, and when he was gone they did not know how to go back to their houses or other familiar places.
With that, Ralph and his people got in their saddles and rode away slowly, for the people crowded around them, following them to the edge of the wood and even a little way into it, and they they all stood gazing on Ralph and his group after they hurried on and were riding down a clearing in the wood.
Notes:
[1] Look, I don’t know, I’ll have to really assess the layout of everything in the western lands once this is all over.
[2] So, this is ambiguous as the original does not include an article to indicate whether he’s talking about Ralph and the Lady, or speaking of a theoretical couple that match Ralph and Ursula’s roles and may have slept there in the past. Based on Ralph’s reaction, I believe it’s the latter. Therefore, he’s saying “This looks like a place good enough for a lord and lady to sleep.”
[3] This may be a reference to Guardian Angels, which historically are a thing in Catholicism, but I recall references to personal angels in the bible, but am not finding if there’s a distinction between them in my cursory research.
[4] The capital “But” is lacking a preceding punctuation mark in the original and I left it as such because I felt like it.
[5] They were probably more interested in the circumstances than the method, Ralph.
[6] I’m tired as I’m doing this (never a good strategy) but I don’t think a particular woman was mentioned in this scene? I’m not sure who “the woman” here is.
[7] Did they ever explicitly meet? I’d have to go back and check.
[8] “Down by the water” isn’t a descriptor we’ve seen for Upmeads before, and it’s an odd one. Compared to the Plains of Abundance, Upmeads is more northern (up, not down), and is not by a major water feature, at least not one they would know. “Down by the water” would seem more likely to be interpreted as being near the Water of the Oak to them.
[9a] “Wight” can mean a spirit or person, or a supernatural being. “Wodehouse” seems to be related to “woodwose” or “wild men” but I don’t know the exact details. “Elf-women” here would not be our modern concept of Elves, which was mostly defined by Tolkien almost half a century later; the medieval concept of Elves was closer to how we think of fairies: beautiful supernatural beings with strange powers who help or hinder mortals depending on how they feel; this would also apply to Richard’s fears about the Lady. “Dwarfs,” similarly, would not be our modern idea of Dwarves; I suspect also that it would not be the Norse idea of a Dwarf, but the broader disseminated form which would have been the idea in the Middle Ages; this would be very similar to Elves and Fairies.
[9b] Prior to the modern concept of fantasy, supernatural races of creatures were pretty indistinct, with most being summarized as “mysterious supernatural beings that live in the wilderness and use their strange powers to toy with mortals.” Most features like descriptions and specific lore were regional, and often applied to increasingly specific regional variants of mythical beings. All this to say that the differences in these creatures are probably negligible and without deep lore separating them. Likely woodwose were wild, hairy men, Elves were beautiful and wise (but dangerous), dwarfs were elusive and tricky.
[9c] The veracity of these claims is dubious, even within the story. The closest we’ve come to seeing a supernatural being is the possibility that the Lady was descended from Fae, and Ralph spent a lot of time in those woods and never ran into anything. I believe Morris gives these superstitions to the People of Abundance to highlight their innocence and naivety. Morris loved the natural world and saw simple living as a high ideal, and I think the People of Abundance are an even more idealized view of that. Upmeads is agrarian and peaceful, but not perfect. The Plains of Abundance are even further removed, existing in an unrealistic, simple time where people lived in safety and the edge of the world was where their fields became a dark forest full of strange things.
Book 4
Chapter 15 - A Strange Meeting in the Wilderness
Text
Audio
Synopsis:
A strange figure appears, only for tragedy to follow.
Summary:
"Young man, thou and Richard are deft leeches; ye have let me blood to a purpose, and have brought back to me my wits, which were wandering wide. Yet am I indeed where my fool's brains told me I was."
In the morning, they got on the road again early. At first, the land had little in the way of farms, but there were sheep about, mostly on the grassy hills and the low places between them. They only saw a few houses, and these were small and plain. They met a few shepherds who spoke little as was their habit, but who thought such nice travelers were worth greeting.
So they rode until it was noon, and Richard spoke more than usual even considering how talkative he normally was. The Sage spoke a lot, too, but Ursula said little and seemed to listen little, and Ralph thought she looked paler than usual, her brow furrowed as if she were anxious. As for Ralph, he was serious and calm, but did not say much, and now and then when Richard was the most chatty, Ralph would look at him steadily for a moment and he would change his mood, quieting down but not for long.
Meanwhile, Ralph looked around him, trying to gather the bad memories that floated around him to see if any of this land they were passing through looked familiar.
At length they stopped to eat by some scrubby bushes at the foot of a wide hill, and Ralph took Richard aside and said to him: “Old friend, where are we going?”
“To the Burg of the Four Friths, as you know.”
“Yes,” said Ralph, “but by what road?”
Richard said: “My son, has your heart grown weaker than you thought it was last night?”
Ralph was silent for a time and then said: “I know the answer. We’re going right to the Castle of Abundance.”[1]
He said this outloud, but Richard just nodded as though to say “Yes, but don’t say that.”
Ralph knew that Ursula had come up behind him and—still looking at Richard—he put his hand out towards her and took her hand in his.[2] Then he turned to her and saw that her face was pale, so he put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her kindly, and she laid her head against his chest and cried, and the two older men turned away and busied themselves with the horses.
After some time, they got back on their horses and Ursula’s face was free of grief and fear, and the color had come back to her cheeks and lips. But Ralph’s face was stern and sorrowful to look at. But as they rode away, he said in a loud, seemingly-cheerful voice: “The road to my Father’s House grows ever shorter, and I also want to see if it is true that the men of the Burg have become peaceful and to know what has happened to the strong champions of the Dry Tree, and if they’d like to joust with us.”
Richard smiled at him and said: “You sound like you get along better with the Dry Tree than the Burg; not long ago, people would rather run into Burgers than the Champions.”
“That’s true,” said Ralph, “but people are often spoken ill of by those who hardly know them. And now, if it’s all right, O Sage of Swevenham, I would like to meet with the best of those champions, a tall, proper man who, I think, helped me on my way though I do not know why.”
The Sage said: “If you don’t know how to do that, then I don’t either. And yet, I think something like grief will come of it. Be content with such things, my son.”
Ralph was quiet and they hurried on their way, Ursula riding close by him and looking on him gently and touching him when she could, and after a while he started talking again in that loud, cheerful voice. At last, after about an hour, they came to the stream which ran down to the Swelling Flood from the pool where before the Lady of Abundance had bathed before her murder. Ralph stared at the stream, but however much his heart hurt at that old grief, his face did not change and his voice remained cheery. But Ursula noticed how his eyes wandered and how he didn’t hear what the others were saying, and she knew what was the matter, for he had long ago told her all that had happened and now her heart was troubled, too, and she looked at him and was silent.
So, a little before, they came to that steep cliff and the cave in it, and the little green plain that spread out from it, and the rocky bank going down into the water of the stream. They came upon it somewhat suddenly from the bushes of the valley, and not just the Sage and Richard, but Ursula as well, all had to stop at the sight of it, for all three knew what had happened there. But Ralph, though he looked to the side at it, rode on steadily, and when he saw that the others had stopped, waved his hand and called out: “Come on, friends! The road to my Father’s House grows short.” The others were embarrassed, and hurried on after him.
But just as they were passing, a brown, hairy man came out of the bushes at the edge of the stream, dripping and naked except for a wreath of leaves around his waist. He was taller than most men and frightening to look upon, his eyes glittering in his dark face surrounded by wild hair the color of molding hay. He stood and looked at them for a few seconds and then without a word rushed up from the water, straight at Ursula, who was riding at the front of the three in the back, and in the blink of an eye he had pulled her from her horse and was holding her like a dove in a hawk’s talons.
He threw her to the ground and stood over her, shaking a great club, but before he could bring it down on her, he glanced over his shoulder towards the cliff and the cave in it, and in that same moment two swords flashed around him and he fell crashing down upon his back, struck in the chest and side by Richard and Ralph, and the wounds were deep and deadly.
Ralph left him and pulled Ursula away, setting her up and laying her head on his lap. She had not quite fainted and was in truth mostly unhurt, only a little dizzy with shock and being thrown around.
She looked up at Ralph’s face and smiled, saying: “What happened? Why did he do it?”
Ralph’s eyes were still wild with fear and anger as he answered: “Beloved, Death and the enemy came out from the cave. What was he doing there? He grabbed you to kill you, but I have killed him. Still, this is a terrible, awful place and we should go.”
“Yes,” she said, “let’s leave quickly!” She stood up shakily, and Ralph got up as well and steadied her with his arm. He saw Richard kneeling over the wild-man, and the Sage was coming back from the river carrying water in his helmet, and Ralph called out: “Get on your horse, Richard! Are you not done killing the woodman?”[3]
But then there came a weak and hoarse voice from the wild-man saying: “Child of Upmeads, do not move on so quickly. It will not be long; you and Richard the Red hit me hard.” Ralph was surprised that the wild-man knew him and Richard, but the wild-man spoke again: “Listen, you lover, you young man!”
The Sage came and knelt beside him, giving him a drink of the water. Ralph said: “What’s this Woodman? Do you speak my language? What are you?”
The wild-man, having drunk, sat up a little and said: “Young man, you and Richard are skilled leeches[4]; you have bled me and then brought me back to my senses. Yet I am exactly where my fool of a brain told me I was.”
Then he laid back again and turned his head as well as he could to look at the cave. It seemed to Ralph that he had heard his voice before and his heart softened, though he didn’t know why. “Yes, but why did you attack the Lady?” he asked.
The wild-man struggled with his growing weakness and said angrily: “What was another woman doing here?” Then he said, calmer and weaker: “No, my senses will not leave me again; we will make this journey together, the two of us. Young man, I will explain if I am able. You ran from her and forgot her. I came to her and forgot all but her. I forgot even my own life.”
He continued, weaker still: “Kneel beside me; my voice is dying faster than I am.”
Ralph knelt by him, as he began to suspect who the man was, and he put his face close to his and said: “I am here, what do you want to tell me?”
The wild-man said feebly: “I did not help you much before. How could I, when I loved her so dearly? But I helped a little. Believe me, and let me lie beside her when I am dead, though I never lay beside her while living, for I never dared enter the cave.”
Then Ralph knew that he was the tall champion whom he had first met at the churchyard gate of Netherton, and so he said: “I know you now, and I promise you I will do as you ask. I am sorry that I have killed you, forgive me.”
A mocking smile came into the dying man’s eyes, and he whispered: “It was Richard, not you.” The smile spread across his face and he struggled to turn toward Ralph, and said in a faint whisper: “The last time!”
He said no more, dying in that moment.
The Sage stood up from his side and said: “Yes, we may bury this man as he asked. And so your wish has been fulfilled, for this was the great champion and duke of the men of the Dry Tree you wished to see again. Indeed, it is a pity that he is dead, for as terrible as he was to his enemies, he was a good man.”
Richard said: “Now the mystery of the giant, wild-man that rumor said haunted this area has been solved. We struggled with one another a long time ago, and he always came out on top. He was a wise man to have lost his senses. It is a pity.”
But Ralph took off his knight’s scarlet cloak, and he laid the wild-man—who was once so respected—on it. Ursula trimmed his hair and beard until his face was visible again, serious but somewhat mocking, just as Ralph remembered it. Then they took the cloak by the corners and carried him across the stream, up onto the grass before the cliff. Richard and the Sage took him into the cave, laying him beside the pile of stones which Ralph had heaped up over the Lady, and they covered him in stones as well.
Meanwhile, Ursula knelt at the mouth of the cave and cried, and Ralph stood on the edge of the bank and looked at the stream flowing through the valley, where the moon was now beginning to cast shadows, until the other two came out of the cave for the last time. Then Ralph went to Ursula and helped her up and kissed her, and they all went away from that terrible place and got on their horses on the other side of the stream. They rode three miles further by the light of the moon, then lay down among the bushes of the wilderness, saying little to each other.[5]
Notes:
[1] So the shortest path from Whitwall to the Burg passes through the Land of Abundance. I feel like the locations in this area on my map need to be sort of rotated, moving Whitwall further south-west, the Land of Abundance further north-east. This also makes me think that the river (or stream, I don’t remember how it was specified) between Whitwall and Swevenham is not the Swelling Flood as was theorized before, but a minor water feature. The Swelling Flood is almost certainly north of Swevenham then.
[2] I just think this is really cute.
[3a] This is again the concept of the “wild man,” a mythological and folkloric figure in Europe. I say “again” but I don’t actually see it anywhere in my examination (I thought I mentioned it when the hill folk were introduced?). Anyway, a “Wild Man” or “Wood Wose” is a mythical figure or character that looks like a man but is hairy like an animal. They are connected to nature and fill a similar role to Satyrs.
[3b] I think the people of the Plains of Abundance might have mentioned running into such creatures in the woods.
[4] See previous note about medicine, leechcraft, and bloodletting (from Book 1).
[5a] Maybe my least favorite part of Book 4 is the death of the Champion of the Dry Tree. I just don’t understand why it happens the way it does. It was stated before (by the Lady, I think) that the Champion loved her, but not in the same way as his brother, the Baron of Sunway. He was one of the most interesting parts of the first Book, in my opinion, being this giant, mysterious knight with a bad reputation who keeps popping up in Ralph’s path. He was sort of an antagonist, bringing to light Ralph’s immaturity and weakness, but at the same time showing him mercy.
[5b] He was the Lady’s right-arm and I can understand him being hurt by her death, but “I went crazy and lived in the wilderness until you happened to come by and fix me as I was dying” just isn’t it. Book Four is all about meeting back up with old characters and joining together. I just don’t understand why the Champion didn’t make the cut to be in Ralph’s end-game party. Even if he died in the climax of Book Four, it’d be cool to have him around as this huge, grim, brooding knight who finds one last way to serve his Lady (help Ralph).
[5c] Farewell, Champion of the Dry Tree; you deserved better.
"Well, wend we the shorter road; why make more words over it? Or what lion lieth on the path? Is it that we may find it hard to give the go-by to the Burg of the Four Friths?"
When they were well on their way, riding at a good pace by the clear light of the moon, Richard said to Ralph: “Where are we riding now?”
“To Upmeads, where else?” said Ralph.
“Yes, but by what road? Should we ride down to the Swelling Flood and ride the main road, or go by the hills and the forest to the Burg of the Four Friths?”[1]
“Which way is shorter?”
“Through the woods, actually, if you know them as well as I do.”
“Or as I do,” said the Sage. “Here’s something amazing: two men of Swevenham knowing the terrain more than twenty miles from their home town.”[2]
Ralph said: “Well, we’ll take the shorter road. What else is there to say about it? Or is there some danger on that path? Will the Burg of the Four Friths give us any trouble?”
Richard said: “Although the Burg is close to Whitwall, we don’t hear much news from it. Our merchants rarely go there and none come to us from it except for our own people who have wandered that way. But, as I said before at the inn, there is a rumor of change abroad, and one story says one thing and another says the opposite, but the tale is that the old fierceness and headstrong ways of the Burg have broken down, and that the people there live in peace and quiet.”
The Sage said: “In any case, we have enough wisdom among us to outfox them if they become our enemies, and we will escape with ease. We have no need to fear them.”[3]
Richard leaned in close to Ralph’s ear and whispered to him: “Should we go by the shorter road, even if it takes us through places where you before suffered such tragedy?”[4]
“Yes,” said Ralph, “in fact, I would like to test my heart and see how strong it is.”
So they rode on and turned from the road that led down to the crossing of the Swelling Flood, where Ralph had met with Blaise and Richard on the day after that terrible killing which had ended his joy.
When they were in among the bushes, riding a deep ravine in the wilderness, Richard said: “It is good that we are here; now if Blaise sends riders to retrieve us, they’ll go down to the ford and maybe even cross it looking for us.”
“Yes,” said Ralph, “it’s a good plan.”
So they rode until the moon grew low, large, and red, sinking down away from them. By then, they came to a shepherd’s hut with no one in it, and nothing but an old dog, some bread and white cheese, and a well. So they stayed there that night.
Notes:
[1a] I had to double check my map. At present, Whitwall lies between two rivers, the northern of which is the Swelling Flood. Richard is asking whether they want to take the longer, easy road down along the Swelling Flood, or go north through the woods to the Burg. With my current layout, this doesn’t make much sense because the Burg is far enough west that following the river until due south of Upmeads would still have them pass through the Burg.
[1b] If I were to move the Burg further east, it would make more sense in this context, but I don’t know if that’s viable as I seem to recall Ralph and the Fellowship leaving the Burg to the east, which would change Ralph and Roger’s path to the Land of Abundance. Once I finish Book 4, I’ll go through and reexamine the westlands’ map.
[2] Unsure of where exactly “twenty miles” refers, given that they’re in one place and talking about another. My guess would be the area around the Burg of the Four Friths. I’ll make a note of that distance.
[3] He says “lore” originally, and “lore,” and “wisdom” are both synonymous with magic (see the etymology of “wizard”).
[4] He’s referring to where the Lady died, which also doesn’t match my map (I had that further south), so I’ll be taking that into consideration when I revise things.
[Map] I’m not making any changes to the layout of things at this time, I’ll make a note of the path they take and what they say about it (and what they say about other possible routes).
"Moreover, lad, I can see that thy tale is no ill one; therefore my heart is not wrung for thee or me, though I wait for it a while."
They came to a little gathering of houses where the path split, the main road going on to Whitwall and the side-road going to Swevenham. There was a small inn where they stayed for the night as it was evening when they arrived, and when the four of them had eaten and drunk, Ralph said: “Michael-a-dale, you’re going to Swevenham tomorrow?”
“Yes, lord,” he said. “I should be able to find family there, and I’ll remind you that I asked to be led there if you felt I had helped you at all.”
“That’s true, and I send you on with my blessing. And I think you’ll have company as well since our friend here—who is also your grandfather’s friend—is going that way as well.”
The Sage of Swevenham leaned forward on the table and said “What’s that you’re saying?”
Ralph smiled at him and said: “That’s the last thing I heard you say on the matter, though it was a long time ago. Do you have something to add now?”
“I won’t leave you until you send me away. Did I really need to say that?”
Ralph reached out to him and said “This is very good, though the road from here to Upmeads could still get rough.”
“Yes,” said the Sage, “but we will all come through it alive, unless I’m losing sense of foretelling.”
Then Ursula got up and went to the old man and threw her arms around him, saying: “Yes, father, come with us, and let your wisdom bless our household! Won’t you teach our children wisdom, and maybe our children’s children since you are a friend of the Well?”
“I don’t know about teaching wisdom,” said the Sage; “but as to my going with you, it will be as I just said, and indeed I was waiting for this topic to come up so I could change what I had said, now that I had learned wisdom from you.”
With that, they celebrated and were joyful together, and the evening passed in happiness.
And when the morning came, they got on their horses and Ralph said to Michael: “Well, friend, now you must ride alone to your family, and may you have pleasant days in Swevenham.[1] But if you ever decide that Swevenham isn’t the place for you, come to Upmeads and we’ll help you out however we can.”
The Sage went over to Michael as he was sitting on his horse, a strong man around forty, and said: “Michael-a-dale, hold out your hand.” He did so, and the Sage looked at his palm and said: “This man will live a long life, most likely, and furthermore it is most likely that he will come to Upmeads before he dies.”
Ralph said: “We will rejoice at his arrival, however good our lives might be. Farewell, Michael! I wish you all the luck in the world for your helpful advice.”
So Michael said goodbye and rode on to Swevenham, going quickly like one fleeing from a moment of sadness.
The three continued on to Whitwall and it was barely noon when they came to the gate on a Saturday in late May. It was a market day, and the streets were crowded, and they looked at the people and were happy for them because they seemed familiar compared to the others they had seen. The folk looked at them curiously and thought they seemed decent, both the old man and the two knights (for Ursula was dressed in her armor).
But as they rode slowly because of the crowd, up Petergate[2], they heard a shout from some behind them, sounding like a man both excited and shocked. So Ralph halted and turned towards it, and Ursula[3] saw a man with broad shoulders, grey hair, blue eyes, and a warm complexion—a warrior-like man with a long sword on belt. Ralph got down from his horse and went to the man, who was coming towards him, and threw his arms around his neck, kissing him, for it was Richard the Red. The people around them clapped and crowded around them, calling out: “Hooray for friends long parted coming together again!”
But Richard, whom most of them knew, called out: “Make way, friends, are you trying to separate us again?” Then he said to Ralph: “Get back in your saddle, lad; surely your story is too long to tell in the street.”
Ralph did as he was told, and they went on to the inn where previously Ralph had suffered with his grief. Richard walked beside Ralph, and as they went he said: “Furthermore, lad, I can see your tale is not a bad one, and so I’m not worried even though I have to wait to hear it.” Then he continued: “You do well to hide her beauty behind the weeds of war,[4] even in this peaceful town.”
Ursula blushed, but Richard laughed and said: “Well, you have brought back a fair rose from the east, and there will never be another couple like you two in these parts. I know what you’re about to say, so I’ll tell you that your brother Blaise is alive and happy—meaning his wallet is both deep and full. In truth, he could buy a kingdom as rich as he is, and powerful as well.”
“And what about the war with Walter the Black?” asked Ralph. Even as he spoke, his face changed as he thought too closely of those past days and his dream of the Lady of Abundance and Dorothea, who rode with him now as Ursula.
But Richard said: “It is a short story to tell; I killed him in the heat of battle and his men asked to parley. Many were glad at his death and few mourned him, for as handsome as the young man was, he was a cruel tyrant.”
With that, they came to the Lamb, which was the same inn where Ralph had stayed before, and as he entered it his heart bled for that old sorrow. Ursula looked at him lovingly and cheerfully, and when they were inside, Richard turned to the Sage and said: “Greetings to you, honored one. If you were forty years older and worn out, I would think that you looked like the Sage that lived in the mountains near Swevenham when I was a little boy.”[5]
The Sage laughed and said: “Yes, I do look like myself from forty years ago. You have a good memory, old man.”
Then Richard shook his head and said under his breath: “Then it was no dream or mirage, and he has drunk those waters, and so has my dear lord then.” Then he looked up with a happy face and he called for the servers and had one take them to a good room, and another went to gather a feast to be brought there. So they went into a beautiful room high up, and Ursula went out of it for a little while and came back dressed in beautiful women’s clothing, which Ralph had bought for her in Goldburg. Richard looked at her and nothing else for a while, then walked around the chamber uneasily, speaking at times with the Sage or Ursula, but never Raph. At last he said to Ursula, “I ask that you excuse me, lady, and let me take your man to that window over there so I can speak to him privately while you talk to the Sage of Swevenham.”
She laughed cheerfully and said: “Sir nurse,[6] take your child and bundle him off to whatever corner you’d like, and I will turn my eyes away from your doting.”
So Richard took Ralph over to a window and sat down beside him and said: “There’s a chance this question might hurt you, but I’m thinking about what we last spoke of and therefore I must ask: was the other one more beautiful than this one?”
Ralph furrowed his brow: “I don’t know, the other is gone.”
“Yes,” said Richard, “but I say that this one is without fault. Did you drink from the Well together?”
“Yes, we did.”
“And this woman has a good heart? Is she brave?”
“Yes, yes,” said Ralph, reddening.
“As brave as the other one?” asked Richard.
“How could I tell unless they were tested in some way?”
“Are you married?”
“Yes, we are.”
“Do you think she is honest?”
“More honest than I am,” said Ralph, and by now his voice was somewhat angry.
Richard said: “Then it is very good, very good, for you have married one from the World of mortal men, and not some mirage from the Land of Fairy.”[7]
Ralph was silent for a moment, and swallowed and said: “Old friend, I ask that you not say such things again; they torment me, and wound my heart.”
Richard said: “Well, I will say no more about it, now that it’s been said. You need not fear any more of it from me, though you must know that I had to say something about it.”
Ralph nodded to him cordially, and then the food was brought in, a feast fit for a King’s son, with the best wine. They all celebrated and were happy, and Ralph told the whole story of his wanderings and what happened, including all that Ursula had told him about Utterbol; meanwhile, she was silent. Eventually, Ralph exaggerated some things so that she would step in and correct him because he longed to hear her voice, but she never said more than that, just smiled at him now and again. She sat there like a pretty rose in her gown with golden flowers while Richard looked at her and praised her in his heart.
And when Ralph was done with his story (which was quite long and now it had been dark for some time), Richard said: “Well, my son, you have seen many things, done many things, and most would say you are a lucky man, and that more deeds await you. Where will you go now? What will you do?”
Ralph’s face reddened in anticipation of an argument, just as it had when he was two years younger. “Where would I go but the House of my Fathers and the fields that fed them? What should I do other than live among my people, protecting them from evil, and loving them and advising them? Why would I love them less than before? Have they become cowards and fools?”
Said Richard: “They are no more foolish than before, likely, nor less brave. But you have grown wiser and braver by far. You’re like a different kind of person than you were before, and a Ruler of Rulers, maybe. You’re going to Upmeads, but will you stay there? Upmeads is a nice land, but it is small. Each day is much like the one before it, unless something bad happens. The world is wide and I think you hold its glory in the palm of your hand.”[8]
Then the Sage said: “Yes, Richard of Swevenham, and how do you know something bad is not happening in Upmeads? And if it is, shouldn’t help come to them from the one most able to do so? Furthermore from their lord?”
“It may be so, wise man, though we have not heard any news about it. But if my lord goes to help them, will he not leave once the trouble is over and seek new deeds to accomplish?”
“No, Richard,” said the Sage, “do you not know him well enough to know that once he has brought peace back to the land, he will need the people and they will need him? If he goes away for a while, he will come back; yes, and so the little land may grow great.”[9]
Then Ralph sat quiet while this talk was going on, and he seemed to not be listening, his eyes looking far off. Then Richard spoke up after there had been silence for a while: “Wise man, you speak the truth, though I have heard no rumor of war in Upmeads. But we have been feeling some stirring in the air as though things were changing, the great falling, the weak rising up. Who can say that our lord won’t find great deeds at hand in Upmeads?”
Ralph turned to them as though waking from a dream and said: “How long until morning? I want to get away from Whitwall—the three of us—and turn towards Upmeads.”
Richard said: “Won’t you stay a day or two and talk to your brother about your journey?”
“I would,” said Ralph, “but my father’s trouble and my mother’s grief draws me away.”
“Let’s not wait,” said Ursula, “not even to pass the night. Let this hour be our sunrise, and we will go by the clear moonlight. Look how she shines through the window!” Then she turned to Richard and said: “Oh caretaker of my beloved, don’t you see that he speaks as a Friend of the Well? He knows more of what is happening in the world than you do?”
“She speaks the truth, Richard,” said Ralph. “What if torches are even now drawing close to the High House of Upmeads? Or maybe the House is shining as a dreary candle amid the meadows, its glare reddening the waters of the ford! What are we doing here?” With that, he pushed back from the table and stood, going to his gear and beginning to put it on. He said to Richard: “You have the authority to open the gates of this good town, even though it is late at night. We shall go on, dear friend, and maybe we will meet again, and maybe not. Tell my brother Blaise that you didn’t know I came here or how I’ve been, or how need draws me away.[10] Tell him to come see me at Upmeads, and to ride with a group of strong men to keep the dangers of the road at bay.”
Then Richard said: “I will tell Lord Blaise nothing more than what you can tell him yourself, because don’t think that I will let you leave without me. As for Blaise, he can afford to let me go. He is a powerful man and a Lord of the Port, and the Port employs many strong fighters and captains that are younger and more skilled than I am. But let me send for my horse and armor, and also a message to the captain at the West-gate Bar[11] to have him ready to open it for me and three of my friends, and also to give me a pass for it. So we’ll leave before word gets out that the brother of the Lord of the Port is staying at the Lamb. I see that the Lady has spoken truly, and perhaps she can see the future, just as you seem to be able to now. Also, I think I shall get a group of twenty men or so to ride with us, as we may run into trouble on the road.”
Ralph said: “This is all good, Richard, but don’t get the men. We may find companions on the road, and if you run around town we may get stopped by Blaise and his men. But send for your horse and armor and ask the guard to quietly open the gate when we’re ready. Soon we’ll be departing by the clear light of the moon. But you, beloved, will wear your armor no more. Put on your fine clothing—we are nearly out of the wilderness, and after many months of traveling our path has grown short. I think now friends will gather to us, and they will be happy to help Friends of the Well.”
To the others, and mostly to Ursula, it seemed now that he spoke strongly and joyously, like a king and a leader of men. Richard did as he said and was quick to send messengers. The Sage said: “Ralph, my son, since you have lost one fighter and gained this golden angel in his place,[12] let me help you. Ask Richard to find me some armor and weapons that I can fill the hole in your group. You will find I am no weakling in a fight.”
Ralph laughed and had Richard see to it. He spoke with the host and bought good armor, a sharp sword, and an axe as well. When the Sage was armed, he looked as strong a warrior as anyone might need. By this time, Richard’s horse and armor had arrived, and he quickly armed himself and paid the host, and all four of them rode out of the inn and found the streets empty and quiet, for it was night. So they rode quickly to the Westgate and came to the Bar, and soon the gate was opened to them and they were on the moonlit road outside of Whitwall.
Notes:
[1] I’m a little confused here about Ralph’s agreement with Michael-a-dale here. It was stated both times that Ralph’s group was to take him to Swevenham, which would make it seem like actually staying with him until they reach Swevenham would be expected, rather than parting ways at some distance. I guess they’re close enough that both parties agree the deal has been completed.
[2] Petergate was mentioned previously in Whitwall, being the gate they left from. Because of that, I believe it’s Whitwall’s eastern gate, and the “Petergate” that they’re riding “up” here is most likely the road that leads to it (inside the city).
[3] Not sure why Ursula is specified as the one who sees him when Ralph was the original subject of the sentence.
[4] That is, her armor. Richard is big on metaphors, if you’ll recall.
[5] The original includes “and fearsome was the sight of thee unto me” at the end, which I struggle to determine the exact meaning of. I believe he’s saying that seeing the Sage as a boy, or the mountains, or the Sage again now as an older man is impressive, but the tense is all weird.
[6] As a reminder, Richard played a large part in raising Ralph and was his caretaker, which is referred to frequently here.
[7] Recall Richard’s previous hesitance about the Lady and his conjecture that she might be a fairy (and others hypothesized the same).
[8] He’s saying that Ralph is too great for little Upmeads and is better suited to adventure and do great deeds.
[9] This is what the Lady of Abundance did with the Land of Abundance.
[10] Their reunion in the street was pretty public. Also, Ralph and Ursula spent like three months with the Sage before, just passing the winter.
[11] This would be the guard house at the western gate, likely.
[12] That is, Ursula is no longer riding as a warrior.
"And then shalt thou be learned of thyself, when thou seest that thou art the desire of all hearts."
Ralph, Ursula, the Sage, and Michael-a-dale went on their way, and the road was easy for them. They saw few people, and those they did were kind. At last, one afternoon, they saw off in the distance the towers of Whitwall, and Ralph’s heart rose and he could hardly contain himself. But Ursula was shy and silent, and the color faded from her face as though she were afraid.
The two of them were riding a little ahead of the others, and Ralph turned to Ursula and asked what was the matter. She smiled at him and said: “It’s a simple thing: we are nearing my home and I am ashamed. Beyond the mountains, who knew who I was or where I came from? I was pretty, and strong for a woman, and that was enough. But now that I am back among the nobility and lineages, how can I stand up against these blue-blooded fools and cowards? And even more, my knight, because you are greater than you were before when we met at the crossroads of the Wood Perilous, when I told you to remember that you are a King’s son and I a peasant’s daughter. Then, you were just a boy, noble and handsome, but untested. Now you are fit to take Caesar’s throne and rule the world from Rome.”[1]
He laughed cheerfully and said: “What? Have you already forgotten our adventures beyond the Mountains? Maybe, since we had no minstrel to put our deeds to song. Or was it all a dream and now that we’re back home again, we have changed back? Does that mean you were never my beloved, and never shared a bed with me? You, who I sought to free from shame and terror at Utterbol, now no longer saved yourself without my help, meeting me in the dark wood and leading me to the Sage who now rides behind us! No, nor did you ride fearlessly beside me, leaving the world behind, or comfort me when my heart was near to breaking in the wilderness. Nor did I save you when I saw you running naked from the jaws of death. Nor were we married in the wilderness far from our own people. Nor did you save me from the poison of the Dry Tree. Yes, and we never drank together from the Water of the Well! It is all just stories from Swevenham, a blue mirage hanging around those mountains behind us. Well? So be it! Here we ride together, having never done anything great, a man and a woman of whom no one will tell stories. What’s next? Who will drive us apart?”[2]
Then he drew his sword and tossed it into the air, then caught it by the hilt as it came down and cried out: “Listen, Ursula! By my sword, I swear that when I come home to Upmeads, if my father and mother and all my family does not exalt and celebrate you, then I will be a man without family and I will turn my back on the lad I love and the House where I was born, and I will make for us a new family which the whole world will know. So help me Saint Nicholas and all the Saints and Mother Mary!”
She looked at him, overflowing with love, and said: “Ah, beloved, how beautiful you are. It is as I said before: the world lies at your feet, if you will but stoop and pick it up. Believe me, sweet, that all people will see you as I do, and will see me as nothing compared to you.”
“Beloved,” he said, “you do not truly know yourself, and I think that mirrors do not do you justice. Now you must have something else for a mirror; that is, the stir and trouble your beauty will cause and the fighting of those who love you too much and who will try to take you away from me. Then this sword that has seen the Well at the World’s End will come out and take you and I away from the chaos and to the quiet fields of my father’s house, and then you will know yourself, when you see that you are the desire of all hearts.”
“Ah, your wisdom,” she said, “and your bravery, and I become weak and foolish beside you! What shall I do then?”[3]
He said: “You’ll have many opportunities to show what you can do, but right now the road is dry and long, and there are fields on either side and the glimmer of Whitwall in the distance, and a little cloud of dust around us in the late spring afternoon, and the the Sage and Michael riding behind us, making dust of their own. And now, if this is also a dream, let it be over soon, so that we might awake in the ancient House at Upmeads—which you have never seen—and us in each others’ arms.”
Notes:
[1a] I could talk about the characterization of Ursula in Book 4 and how I feel she comes across as weaker than in Book 3—and I might do that at a later point—but at this moment I think it’s interesting how attention is drawn to the cultural differences between the eastern area and the western area. The west is ruled by people descended from rulers (or are highly ranked in the church) and they fill a social class that’s seen as inherently better than the poorer class. This is implied to be a less-than-ideal way of deciding who is in charge (the bishops are greedy and the Burgerfolk are slavers), but is not completely inverted as an idea (Ralph and his father are both good, and their noble roots are considered a good thing).
[1b] In the east, might makes right, and whoever is strongest rules. This is shown in a much harsher light than the west’s corrupt leaders, but isn’t universal either, with Goldburg being ruled by reasonably good people. In the east, Ursula got by on her own strength, even in a patriarchal society, but now that they’re back in the west, it doesn’t matter that she’s strong and brave because her low birth is enough to get her dismissed. Although the stronger social structure in the west is mostly seen as a good thing, it does have definite drawbacks.
[1c] I think this is a good thing to draw attention to, but I take issue with the way the topic is brought up.
[1d] Oh and the original says “the Kaiser” instead of “Caesar” and “the Holy City” instead of “Rome.”
[2] He’s saying that they both did this adventure together, and if Ursula’s deeds don’t matter, then neither did his, and so they’re still equal, even if their journey meant nothing.
[3] “Even in this scenario, you are the one saving me.” She’s saying that the superficial affections she causes in others is not a truly valuable trait.
Book 4
Chapter 11 - They Come Through the Mountains Into the Plain
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Synopsis:
The gang hangs out with the Wild Men of the mountains, learning their ways.
Summary:
As for the wild men, they exceeded in their sorrow for the parting, and many of them wept and howled as though they had seen him die before their faces.
In the morning, they got on the road early, and they travelled for two more days until they came to a valley in the mountains which was fair and lovely, and there was the town of these people, the Folk of the Fells. It was not fortified, except that it was not easy to find and that the path to it could be easily defended. Its houses were simple, the largest being like the barn of an abbey,[1] and the others were small and squat, but the people—both men and women—mostly hung around the big house. As for the people, they were mostly like those whom they had met before: strong men, but not tall, black-haired with blue or grey eyes, talkative and with cheerful faces. The women were mostly very pretty, smiling, full of kind words, but not accepting the advances of the newcomers. They saw no slaves among them, and when Ralph asked about that, since they were slave-takers, they said that they took both men and women, but always sold them to the people of the plains, or killed them, or held them for ransom, but never brought them back to their home. However, when they took children—which happened from time to time—they sometimes brought them home and made them children of their own people, with many strange prayers and worshiping their Gods, which were the ancestors of the Folk.
Ralph and his group, being accepted as friends, were celebrated heartily, feasted, and convinced to stay for three days. They showed the travelers how they hunted the deer, boars, and wild bulls of the mountains. At first, Ralph hated this (though he kept a pleasant face for his hosts) because he missed the fields of Upmeads and his father’s house. But when they were finally on the hunt up in the mountains—especially going after the wild bulls—he found himself growing competitive and he impressed the wild men with how skillful he was for a beginner, and they thought he was one of the Gods, and said that their kinsman had done well making such a good friend.
Both Ursula and the Sage refrained from hunting, and Ursula stayed with the women, who told her about their ways of life and their stories of old times. They were open and free with her, and loved her very much, and she was delighted to be around such forward and strong women after the tricks and lies of the poor thralls of Utterbol.
On the fourth day, the travelers got ready and departed, and the chief of the Folk sent a select group of armed men with them, partly for the love of his guests and partly to see the men from Goldburg safely back to the road to the Midhouse of the Mountains, as they were now traveling by other paths which did not lead to that House. On this journey, nothing of importance happened, and they all came down safely to the plain.
There, the men of Goldburg received their pay and said goodbye, going back with the wild men and praising Ralph for his openness and generosity. As for the wild men, they were terribly sad at the parting, and many of them wept and howled as though they had seen him die in front of them. But all that came to an end and soon their moods were lifted and their happy speech and laughter echoed down from the mountain pass as the group rode away.
Notes:
[1] Unsure if there are any specific implications of the comparison to an abbey’s barn, but if you search for pictures of abbey barns, or just old barns in Europe, you’ll get an idea. They’re not really what you think of with American barns.
Book 4
Chapter 10 - An Adventure on the Way to the Mountains
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Synopsis:
Ralph and the gang run into some trouble just before the mountains, but help comes from a surprising place.
Summary:
"Thou, young man, beware thou! and try not thy luck overmuch. We are as many as these trees, and thou canst not prevail over us. Go thy ways free, and leave me what thou canst not help leaving."
The next day, Ralph got his men together and they rode out, and they were not worried about anyone hassling them in or near the town. Michael rode with them as one of the men, dressed in armor and with his face hidden by a wide helmet. Ralph and Ursula were very glad to be going towards the last mountains of the mountains so that it finally seemed like they were going home. They looked forward to the night when they would be alone together and talk about these things in each others’ arms.
When they were gone, they rode for two miles along the highway acting as though nothing were wrong, then at Michael’s direction they turned down a side road and followed it among banks of hazelwood and stands of cut trees, skirting the side of the hills. It was late afternoon when they came back to the Highway, which was the only road that went to the mountain pass. Michael said that by that point, they had probably given them the slip, so they went on happily until halfway through the night, when they set up camp in a stand of oak trees by the road. They did not stay long, leaving early in the morning and riding quickly all day, and when they stopped again that night they felt much safer since they’d found no trouble yet.
But on the third day, a little after noon, when they came up above the farmland and the terrain grew rough and steep. Ahead of them was a dark forest covering the road, and there Ralph thought he saw weapons glinting in the shadows ahead, but was not sure, even as sharp-eyed as he was. So he stopped his group and sent Ursula to the back and had all the men prepare their weapons. They went forward carefully and in good order, and soon they could all see the men standing in the opening to the mountain pass with the woods on either side of them. At first, they thought these were just robbers like anyone might find, but as they got closer Michael recognized them as riders from Cheaping Knowe.
“Yes,” said the Sage of Swevenham, “I see what has happened: when they did not catch us that first morning, they guessed what we did and went on ahead to the mountains rather than back to Cheaping Knowe, and so beat us there as we were taking the long way around. Because of this, I suspect there is someone of great importance with them, or else they would have gone back to town for new orders.”
“If that’s the case,” said Ralph, “then there are too many of them for us to fight. I will ride ahead and see if we can make peace.”
The Sage said: “Yes, but be careful, as you will have to do this with skill.”
So Ralph rode on alone until he came close to the ambushers. He thrust his sword into its sheath and cried out: “Will any of the warriors in this wood come speak with me, the captain of the travelers?”
A very tall man rode out with two others following him, one on either side, and he uncovered his face and said: “Traveler, we all have weapons in hand and there are enough of us that you and your men will be to us like the seeds to the apple.[1] Therefore, surrender!”
Ralph said: “To whom shall I surrender?”
“To the men of the King of Cheaping Knowe.”
“What will you do to us when we have surrendered?[2] Can we pay ransom and ride on our way?”
“Yes,” said the tall man, “and this is the ransom: that you turn over the coward who betrayed me and the woman who travels in your group.”
Ralph laughed, as he by this point recognized the voice of the King, and had caught a glimpse of his face beneath his helmet. So he called back in answer, in a way more lucky than youthful: “Oh, Sir King! Be careful in case you are frightened when you see the drawn sword of the Friend of the Well and tremble even more than when it was sheathed before you in your hall.”
The King cried out in a loud, harsh voice: You, young man, should be careful, and not test your luck! There are as many of us as trees in this wood, and you cannot hope to beat us. Go with your freedom and leave me that which I would take from you by force.”
“Yes, fool,” said Ralph, “and what will you do with those two?”
“I will skin the traitor and bed the woman.”
These words were just out of his mouth when Ralph let out a great cry and drew his sword, galloping ahead on his horse. His men had drawn close while they were talking, and now they rode at his back. But before they reached the enemy, they heard a loud and confused cry of fight, and the King threw up his arms, falling forward on his horse with a great arrow sticking from his throat.
Ralph pressed on, sword in hand, crying out “Home, home to Upmeads!” and soon he was among his foes, striking out on either side.
His men followed, shouting “For the Friend of the Well!”
And among the enemy—of whom there were many—there was great terror, and they fought so poorly that at first, the travelers did not know what was happening, until they saw arrows as throwing spears coming out of the woods on either side, which struck none of them but only their enemies. It was a short fight, and in a few minutes, none of the enemy remained except for those fleeing down the road to Cheaping Knowe.
Ralph did not allow his men to pursue, for he did not know who else he might have to deal with aside from the King’s men. He gathered his men together and looked around for Ursula and saw that the Sage had brought her towards him. There she sat on horseback, pale and panting with the fear of death and the joy of survival.
Ralph called out from his saddle in a loud voice: “Oh you of the arrows of the wood, you have saved me from my enemy! Where are you, and who are you?”
A loud voice came from the trees on the right: “Children, tell the warrior whose sons you are!” And there was immediately a great bellowing on either side of the road as though the woods were full of cattle.
Then Ralph called out: “If you are the kindred of the Bull, then you are probably my friends and not my enemies. Have you heard of Ralph of Upmeads? Send forth your captain to speak with me.”
He had hardly finished speaking before a man came jumping out of the woods and stood before him in the shade of the trees, and Ralph saw that he was dressed like Bull Shockhead used to be, except that he wore a huge bull’s head for a helmet (which Ralph later found out was made of iron and leather) and a large gold ring on his arm.
“Probably,” said the chieftain, “if you can prove to me that you are that Friend of the Well that our kinsman sent word about.”
Then Ralph remembered the pouch with the knot of grass in it which Bull Shockhead had given him in Goldburg; so he took it out and put it in the chieftain’s hand, and as soon as he caught a glimpse of it he said: “Truly our brother’s hand met yours when he gave you this. But now that I look at you, I can hardly say that I need such a sign to tell me you are that man. I can see you are a man of great honor and power, and you rode bravely against your enemies when you did not even know that we were set to ambush the ambushers. Now, I know you want to get out of our mountains by the shortest road, but if you’re willing to take a slightly longer and safer road, we can take you by our home.” And Ralph agreed to this without further discussion.
As they spoke together like this, the road ahead and behind them became full of armed men and some of Ralph’s group looked at each other as though they doubted these new friends somewhat. But the Sage of Swevenham spoke to them and told them not to fear. “Because,” he said, “for those like us who are their friends, there is no trickery in these men.”
The Bull captain heard him and said: “You speak true, old man, and I will tell you that a group like yours would only make it through these mountains with either our permission or a great deal of luck. That fool with the crown who lies dead there had lately stirred up the Folk of the Fells[3] with his grim cruelty that we’ve been stopping everything bigger than a dog that’s tried to pass through, at least as long as that rascal over there was alive. But you are welcome here, so now let’s get on the road; the day is growing shorter.”
So the tribesmen got themselves in order and their Duke[4] rode on the left side of Ralph, while Ursula rode on his right. The Duke and all his men were on foot, but they went quickly and with ease, like wolves. As for the dead brigands, of whom there were about sixty, the Bull captain wanted to leave them on the road. “Because,” he said, “there are wolves and lynxes and ravens and hawks that will soon catch wind of the dead meat. They’ll have their burial soon enough. We won’t interfere, not even to hang that terrible King’s head from your saddle, lord.”[5]
By sunset, they were out of the woods and on the side of a rough cliff, so they went no further but lit fires by the edge of the woods, and they celebrated around them, singing songs about the things their people had done, and joking, though pleasantly. They roasted venison[6] and drank wine, most of which came from the dead King’s wagons. They put on a great feast for the travelers and were very happy with them in their way. It was as if they could never be close enough to their friends, and never be fierce enough against their enemies.
Notes:
[1] That is, much smaller and totally surrounded.
[2] “What will ye do with us when we are yolden?” I include this because “yolden” is a funny word, being the past participle of “yield.”
[3] Most likely “fell” in the sense of rocky mountains, which (like much of this book) is Scottish in origin. I did however find a reference to “fell” meaning “hide” or “animal skins” which would also work. Maybe an intended double-meaning?
[4] The chieftain.
[5] This was a thing done to enemy commanders killed in battle. The story I recall it occurring in was set in the British Isles, I think, but I don’t know a term for this practice and don’t know how to look it up.
[6] “Venison” typically refers to any hunted animal in this, but in this case it does actually specify that the venison is deer.
Book 4
Chapter 9 - They Come to Cheaping Knowe Once More. Of the King Thereof
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Synopsis:
Ralph impresses the King of Cheaping Knowe, and a stranger brings a warning.
Summary:
"My name is Michael-a-dale," said the man, "and from Swevenham I came hither, and fain would I go thither, and little hope I have thereof save I go privily in some such band as thine, whereas the tyrant holdeth me on pain, as well I know, of an evil death."
Towards the evening, Redhead came and told Ralph that he had hired a dozen well-armed fighters to go with him to Cheaping Knowe. He also advised him to take a fine gift to trade for the King’s favor there, for he was a cruel lord.
Afterwards Ralph, Ursula, Redhead, and the Sage of Swevenham sat together in the courtyard of that nice inn and drank good wine, talking about good things and enjoying each other’s company. And the next day, Redhead and his men left Goldburg, though he was sad to go and they bid him a loving farewell.
When the new guards came to the inn, Ralph served them a feast and treated them well, and they praised him greatly. Then he got supplies and pack animals for the journey and a good stock of bows and arrows as well. Furthermore, he took Redhead’s advice and bought a silver bowl and fine cloth for the King of Cheaping Knowe.
The next day, the group left Goldburg going towards the mountains, which they passed through without incident, partially because they were a strong group and partially because the forces of Goldburg and the Merchants had recently overthrown the mountain folk and now they kept quiet and did not bother anyone who was armed.
On the way, they passed by the place where Bull Nosy had been killed, and there they saw his high burial mound. It was covered with dirt and with grass was beginning to grow on it, and on top there was a great standing stone carved with the image of a Bull and a sword beneath it, and the travelers knew that this was done in his memory by his brother, the new Lord of Utterbol.
They came down from the mountains to Whiteness, where they were treated well, but they stayed only one night before riding on to Cheaping Knowe. They came to its gates on the third day and stayed at an inn for merchants.
The next morning, Ralph went up to the King’s Castle with just three unarmed men, taking with them the gift he had brought for the King. He did not dismiss any of the men until he knew how the King felt towards him.
As he went, he saw the sad signs of the lord’s cruel justice in the streets; bound, handless men dragging themselves around, people hung up in front of merchants’ booths, crowds cheering around the whipping pillar, and other such things. But as he could do nothing to help them, he kept going right up to the Castle-gate, and entered easily when he said he had an errand—gift-bearing men were rarely stopped.
He was immediately taken into the great hall where the King sat on his throne among the managers of the Porte, his captains and generals, who served as his court, though they were not of noble lineage, just skillful men who were smart enough to do as he said.
As he went up to the hall, he saw a number of prisoners—women as well as men—being led away from the high place in chains by officers and guards, and he knew these were being to taken torture, disfigurement, or execution, and he thought that he should help them.
He came to the King and he bowed to him and asked for his favor and permission to hire fighters to guard him on the way to the mountains.
The King was a tall man, warrior-like, with long legs, a black beard, and fierce eyes. He had heard that Ralph came with gifts, and so was gracious towards him. He said: “You have come a long way across the mountains, fair Sir; on what errand are you traveling?”
“My only errand is to return home.”
“And where is your home?” Asked the King, stretching out his legs and sitting back in his chair.
“To the west, lord, many miles.” Said Ralph
“Yes,” said the King, “and how far did you go beyond the mountains? As far as Utterbol?”
“I did not go to Utterbol, but I did go further than it.”
“Hah!” laughed the King, “whoever goes past Utterbol must have an important errand. What was yours?”
Ralph thought for a moment, and he thought it would be best to say as little as possible about Ursula, so he answered in a loud, bold voice: “I wanted to drink from the WELL at the WORLD’S END, and so I did.” As he spoke, he straightened up, his eyes sparkled beneath his brows, and his cheeks were bright and rosy. He half-drew his sword from its sheathe and then shoved it back in with a clanging sound that echoed through the hall. He held up his head and looked around, took a deep breath and stamped his foot, rattling his armor.
The King sat bolt upright in his chair and stared at Ralph’s face, and the warriors and lords and merchants backed away from Ralph and stood to either side, lowering their heads to him. No one spoke until the King said in a hoarse voice, quietly and in a begging tone: “Tell us, fair Sir, what is it that we can do for you?”[1]
“King,” said Ralph, “I’ve come to give gifts, not take them. But, since you seem to want to give me something, I’ll ask to put your mind at ease. And even better, it won’t cost you a thing: I ask that you give life, safety, and freedom to the poor folk I saw being led away by your guards just now. Give me that, or nothing.”
The King scowled but said: “This is indeed a small gift to ask of me, but I would not give it to anyone else but you.” Then he said to a man beside him: “Go set them free, and if any harm has come to them then you’re dead. Is that enough, fair Sir? Have we earned your favor?”
Ralph laughed in joy of his life and power and he answered: “King, here is a sign of my good will: you have nothing to fear from me.” He turned to his men and had them bring out the gift they brought from Goldburg and open it in front of the king.
When the King saw it, he looked at it like a greedy wolf, and anyone nearby would have heard him mutter: “So mighty, and so rich!” But he thanked Ralph out loud with smooth words.
Ralph bowed again, then turned and went back down the hall and he felt proud of having become such a powerful man, and everyone stood back from him and looked at him with respect. Now that he had met the King and judged that he was both cruel and deceitful, he was glad that he had not mentioned Ursula, and he thought it would be a good idea to keep her indoors while they stayed at Cheaping-Knowe.
When he came back to the inn, he called his guards together and asked how far they would travel with him, and they all said they would go with him wherever he wanted within reason. So they prepared to leave the next day and were set to ride out about mid-morning.
So the day passed to evening, and while the night was still young, a poor-looking man came to see Ralph as though to ask charity from him. But when Ralph was alone with him, the man revealed that his apparent poverty was a disguise, and that he was in fact a powerful man, one of the Porte.[2]
He said: “I am on the King’s Council, and I must tell you something about the King. Though he was impressed and cowed by you at first, Friend of the Well, he soon came to himself. Now out of greed and fear of you, he is going to send men to stop you about nine miles outside of town on your way to the mountains, but you’ll be able to avoid them easily now that I’ve warned you. You can take a side road and come around about twelve miles and get behind them. But, if you avoid this first ambush, unless you’re quick to leave tomorrow morning, he’ll probably send riders to catch you before you get to the mountains. Now, I came to warn you partially to save your life as a son of Adam, and partly also because I would like a reward from you for my warning and my guidance—I will be the one to show you the road.”
Ralph said: “Go ahead and ask, for if what you say is true then I already owe you a reward.”
“My name is Michael-a-dale,” said the man, “I came from Swevenham and would like to return there, and I have little chance of doing so unless I go secretly in some group like yours. Our tyrant holds me here on threat of a torturous death.”
“I’ll give you this,” said Ralph; “and now you should go back to your house and get your things together and come back in the early morning.”
The man shook his head and said: “No, I must stay here tonight and go out with you and your men, dressed in enough armor to hide what I look like. It would not be safe for me to go back to town, for this tyrant has many spies and I fear that I may have been seen coming here already, and that they know I’ve spoken with you. I’ll also tell you that by hook or by crook, the King already knows some about you and the woman who is in your group.”
Ralph flushed red with anger at that and he felt his heart pounding, but just then the Sage came in and right away Ralph took him aside and told him about the man and why he came, and asked if he thought he was trustworthy.
The Sage went to Michael and looked closely at his face for a while and said: “Yes, he is honest, unless the children of Michael of the Hatch of Swevenham have turned to thieves in their third generation.”
“And you know the Hatch?” asked Michael.
“As well as I know my own fingers,” said the Sage; “and I knew it years and years before you were born.” Then he told the new-comer who he was and the two men of Swevenham rejoiced in each other’s company.
Ralph was happy for them, and he went to the room where Ursula was sitting and told her what was going on, and she said that she would be happy once they were gone from that town, which seemed to her like a second Utterbol.
Notes:
[1] A tangible effect of the Well’s power on Ralph. He now possesses a sort of charisma or force of personality that overpower others. It’s just like Clement Chapman said back in Book 1; the Well makes one irresistible and unreproachable.
[2] Again, he’s one of the people who oversees commerce in the city.
Book 4
Chapter 8 - Of Goldburg Again, and the Queen Thereof
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Synopsis:
Ralph returns to Goldburg and is reminded of an old friend.
Summary:
“As for me, I must needs go see the King, and give him a letter sealed by my lord's hand;”
The next day, they went through the country that Morfinn had led Ralph through; Redhead rode carefully, as there were many places where they could be ambushed, but they were not attacked. So they all came safely to the gate of Goldburg, the towers of which were full of people looking out on them. So they displayed their banner and rode into the street, and the people gathered around them in a friendly way, for the new Lord of Utterbol had made a strong peace with Goldburg. So they rode to the inn and ate and rested peacefully that night. But Ralph wondered whether or not the Queen would send for him when she heard he had come back, and he hoped that she would because he was ashamed when he thought of her love for him and how he had completely forgotten about her until he was near Goldburg again.
When morning came, Ralph asked Redhead how he should go about hiring men for the rest of the journey home, and Redhead said: “I have already met with the Clerk of the Port, and he will be here within an hour with the license for you to hire men to go with you back to Cheaping Knowe. As for me, I must go see the King and give him a letter from my lord; when I come back I’ll go around to the alehouses where the fighting men gather and see if there are strong folk for you to take with you. But you don’t need to go to the King unless he sends for you, since you didn’t come here to trade and he doesn’t care about warriors.”
Ralph stared at him and said: “The King, you say? Is there no Queen of Goldburg?”
“There is the King’s wife, but they call her Lady, not Queen.”
“But the previous Queen,” said Ralph, “where is she?”
“Yes, her,” said Redhead, “a Queen ruled alone here a while ago;[1] but I don’t know if she died or what happened to her. I didn’t have much to do with Goldburg until our lord conquered Utterbol. Ah, but here comes the innkeeper! He might know something about it.”
Redhead left, leaving Ralph and the innkeeper, whom Ralph asked about the Queen, as his heart was sore with fear that such a fair and friendly woman might have come to harm.
So the innkeeper sat down by Ralph and said: “My lord, this is a sad tale to tell; though the saints forbid that I say anything against our present lord (not that I have grievances with him), but we were quite happy under our dear lady, so good and fair she was.[2] Well, she is gone and we don’t know if she is alive or dead. In early spring, a bit more than a year ago, we awoke to find the Queen’s chamber empty. There was a great deal of searching, but we did not find her. As time passed, people talked and there were rumors about how she left and why, but she was gone all the same. Well, fair sir, many thought that her supposed heritage was a lie, and that she was actually descended from fairies and needed neither horse nor chariot to go where she wanted. But her women and those who knew her best thought that whatever she was, she had killed herself, out of heartache. Indeed, she had been sad and distraught for some time, though she did not cry or say one word about her sorrow, whatever it was.
“But, fair sir, since you are a stranger and about to leave our city, I’ll tell you something: one month or so after she vanished, I spoke with an older fisherman and he told me that on the night she disappeared, as he stood by the water drawing in the line on his boat and the sail was ready to be put away, a woman came along the shore very quickly. She was looking around as though to make sure no one was watching her, and she came up to him and asked him in a sweet voice for a ride down the river. She was wrapped in in a dark cloak with the hood over her head, but she held out her hand to give him money and he saw by the light of his lantern that she was very fair and that the rings on her fingers held great gems, and that there was a large gold ring on her arm.
“He agreed to her request, partly because of her gold and partly (as he told me) because he was afraid of her, thinking she might be a fairy. Then she stepped over into his boat and as he held the lantern down for her to see so she didn’t fall into the water, he noted (he said) that she was wearing gold shoes decorated with gems beneath the hem of her gown, which was thickly embroidered with pearls and jewels.
“His boat was small and he was alone with the woman, and there was a good breeze on that March night, so the moved quickly among the docks of our city. By the time the sun rose ahead of the boat, they were sailing through the great forest that lies some sixty miles seaward from here. There, she asked him to steer to the shore and as soon as they reached it, she leapt from the boat and ran into the trees, and no one in Goldburg has seen her or the Queen since. I think that woman must have been the Queen. And now King Rainald, her cousin, rules instead. He is a wise man and strong, and not a tyrant or a miser.”
Ralph listened and thought about this, and he was very sorry and would have suffered more without the blessing of the Water of the Well. However, he could not fix it; even if he went to find the Queen, it would be worse than doing nothing. He knew that she loved him and what if she could not bear that weight in Goldburg while he was far away? He thought this to himself, and could not have said it to anyone else. [3]
Notes:
[1] It’s been like 2 years since Ralph was here last.
[2] An odd reference to the saints, here in the east.
[3] It’s my personal belief that the Queen of Goldburg left to seek the Well, since she went east and was so full of sorrow.
Book 4
Chapter 7 - Of Their Riding the Waste, and of a Battle Thereon
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Synopsis:
On the road again, but our heroes encounter some resistance.
Summary:
"Lord, it is naught, a five minutes' scramble. That which trieth a man, is to fight and overcome, and straight have to fight with fresh foemen, and yet again, till ye long for dark night to cover you—yea, or even death."
They camped that night and for many nights after as they were now fully in the wilderness. They carried with them a light tent for Ursula to stay in, and the rest of them slept in the open where they could, or else a little more comfortably if there was a thicket for them. They did not run out of food or drink, as they brought with them pack horses and hunted as they went as well. They saw few people, mostly just hunters and peat-cutters, who stood at a distance and watched the armed men going by, showing respect to the banner of Utterbol.
But five days into their journey, they saw in the morning light, a great number of spears shining in the distance against a wooded area. Redhead shaded his eyes with his hand and laughed as though he were glad, saying: “I don’t know for sure who they might be, but it looks like there will be a battle. Now, knight, this is what we should do: you stay here with three of our best men to protect the Lady, and I will take the others ahead to see what’s going on.”
“No,” said Ralph, “you may need my help, and if there is war on sale, I will deal along with you. Leave your three men with the Lady and let us go on; we will be back soon.”
“Now I say no, dear lord,” said Ursula, “I would be afraid left alone here, and it is right that you should protect me from fear. I will ride with you, a short way behind as to not get in the way. I have been through worse than this will be.”
“That’s good,” said Redhead, “let her ride with us; why should she suffer the pain and fear of the lonely wilderness? But let her put on a hauberk over her clothes and a steel cap on her head; arrows and bolts often go astray in battle.”
They did so and rode forward, and soon they saw that the spearmen somewhat outnumbered them, and they were mounted on strong black horses and dressed in black armor. They halted for a time and Redhead looked them over again and said: “Yes, these are the men of the brother of your would-be suitor, Lady Ursula, whom I threw into the Ram’s Bane. The brother is nearly as old as his uncle, though not so frightening, but he is a far better man, a good warrior, a wise leader, and a skilled bandit as well. Well, we’ll probably encounter his men again, either going out or returning, so we should kill as many of them as we can now. Put on your helmet, my lord; and you, Michael-a-green, raise the banner of the Bull; and you, our trumpeter, blow a note of war so that they know we are coming. God help us, for they are ready and quick!”
Even as the banner of the Bull was unfurling in the wind and the Utterbol horn was being blown, the Black-armored band started towards them at a trot, and soon they let out a great screeching yell and braced their spears, spurring their horses on as fast as they could. Behind them, a group of archers came out of the woods and began shooting.
But the men of Utterbol pressed on towards their foes, and as Redhead braced his spear, he said to Ralph: “I am glad that your Lady is close enough to see me, for I now desire her favor.”
The two bands clashed, and as neither wore very sturdy armor, men in each group were wounded or killed from the first thrust of the spear. Hoever, except for Ralph, they did not just ride straight at each other, but fenced and parried with their spears skillfully. As for Ralph, he struck a tall man in the chest and pierced him through, then pulled out his sword from Upmeads and swung it to either side, and no one came near him.[1]
Put shortly, in five minutes time, the Black Riders were fleeing back over the field with the Utterbol riders right behind them, and the archers retreating back into the wood. But one of the enemies threw a javelin back as he fled, and it struck Ursula and would have knocked her from her saddle if not for one of the Utterbol men who caught her and helped her down from her saddle. Ralph didn’t see this as he had chased the Black Riders far and was now coming back slowly with Redhead, who was hurt but not badly.
So when he came back and saw Ursula pale-faced and sitting on the grass with four or five men around her, he grew sick with fear, but she got up and came slowly to meet him and said: “Fear not, beloved, my armor did its job; I don’t have a scratch on me.” And with that he kissed her and hugged her gladly.
The Utterbol Riders had killed sixteen of their foes (as they took no prisoners), and four of their own men were killed, and another six wounded, though not badly. So they lingered in the field for a while to rest and tend to their wounds, and then road on again carefully.
Redhead said: “It is good to see you jousting again, King’s Son. I don’t think I’ll ever figure out your low-angled thrust. Do you remember how poorly I did when we met on the jousting field at Vale Turris back then?”
“Yes,” said Ralph, “but I don’t think you should worry about that; today, at least, I’ve seen you joust skillfully enough.”
“Lord, this was nothing but a five minute scramble. What really tests a man is to fight and win and then come against fresh enemies and overcome them yet again, over and over until you long for the dark night to cover you—or even for death.”[2]
“You speak like a true warrior,” Ralph said, “and whomever you serve, you will serve them well. And now, once more, I wish it were me you rode for.”
Redhead shook his head at that and said: “I thought I might, but for now at least it is not so.”
They rode on and slept in a wooded area that night, keeping watch for dangers, but they saw no more of the Black Riders at that time.
One evening, later on, Ralph looked around and saw a group of trees on the edge of the plain, and he stopped Ursula and said: “Look over there, beloved; this is the field where I was betrayed and given over to the men of Utterbol.”
She smiled at him and said. “I will dismount then, so that I may kiss the earth of this kind field, where you were not kept too long, but just long enough for us to meet in the dark woods later on.”
“Sweetling,” said Ralph, “you may do this with out inconvenience. See, the captain is stopping the pack animals and it seems that we will sleep in those woods tonight.” Then he got down and she did as well, and he took her by the hand and led her a few yards and said: “Look, beloved, my tent was here by this rowan tree the night I was taken.”
She looked at him shyly and said: “Will you sleep here again tonight?”
“Yes, beloved,” he said, “I will have them pitch your tent here, so that I can smell the wild thyme again as I did before.”[3]
So on the field of that old grief they rested that night in all love and contentment.
Notes:
[1] Combat reminders: Armor worn in the eastern territories is a bit flimsy and so the two groups aren’t just crashing into each other (since they’ree both pretty vulnerable). Spears are kind of the best melee weapon because of the range they offer (especially useful on horseback and for targeting enemy horses), but their long shafts can be fragile and the narrow, stabbing heads have a tendency to get stuck in wounds (has to do with depth of the wound and surface area and suction and stuff). That’s why Ralph abandons his spear after killing the guy; having gone all the way through the chest, it’s most certainly stuck, and the corpse is going to fall out of the saddle, yanking it away.
[2] Geez, dude.
[3] It is my reading that on other nights, Ralph slept out with the armed men, since the tent is always called Ursula’s, and she is now inviting him to sleep with her here.
Book 4
Chapter6 - They Ride From Vale Turris. Redhead Tells of Agatha
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Synopsis:
Our heroes move on and hear more of the changes in the land.
Summary:
"Lord of Utterbol, this also thou mayst think on, that it is no further from Utterbol to Upmeads than from Upmeads to Utterbol."
When they got up in the morning, Ralph heard the sound of horses and the noise of clattering armor. He went to the window and looked out, seeing that spearmen were gathered together around the Tower, and he knew that these were to be his company on the road. Their captain was a big man wearing steel armor, but Ralph thought his face looked familiar under his helmet, and Ralph shortly saw that it was Redhead. This made him happy, and he quickly got dressed and went out, going up to Redhead and calling to him, and Redhead jumped off his horse and threw his arms around Ralph, greeting him warmly, and he said: “What a sight for sore eyes you are, my lord; and I’m so glad that your escape went well. Although, in truth, it was a trick, though I knew nothing about that, I assure you. And since you came out on top, I hope that you’ll forgive me for my part in it.”
Ralph said: “You have whatever forgiveness from me that you need, so be content. As for the rest, there’s little reason to ask how you’ve been, as I see you are well and have been promoted.”
As they spoke, the Lord came out of the Tower and said: “Come, Lord Ralph, eat with me and Otter before you get on the road. As for you, Redhead, if anything happens to this King’s Son under your guidance, I will take back the good word I put in for you with Agatha, or maybe tell her to stay clear of you. You’ll miss out on both your wages and the woman.”
Redhead looked at Ralph sheepishly after that, but winked at him, too, as if happy to be teased about his courtship. With that, Ralph saw how things were, and that the cunning handmaid was fond of him. So he smiled kindly and nodded, then went back with Bull into the Tower. There, they all sat down to eat together, and when they were done with their meal, Bull said to Ralph: “Fairk King’s Son, is this the last I will see of you?”
“Who knows? I am still young and have drunk the Water of the Well.”
Bull thought about that and said: “Yes, and you may come back to find I am just a gravestone, but perhaps you will hear some story or song about me, which might please you. You have changed the direction of my life, though to what degree I do not know.”
“That is good,” said Ralph, “but not what I meant; I would never come to Utterbol if I did not expect to find you living there.”
Bull smiled at him as though he loved him and said: “This is well-said; I will expect to see you before I die.”
Then Ursula said: “Lord of Utterbol, consider this: it is no further from Utterbol to Upmeads than it is from Upmeads to Utterbol.”
The Lord laughed and said: “That is true, and if I had my Bull here, I would swear on it to come see you at Upmeads before ten years have passed.”
Then she held out her hand and said: “Swear by this!”
So he took her hand and swore the oath, and the Sage of Swevenham said: “You will keep this oath, and it will be a blessing to both you and your friends in Upmeads.”
So they enjoyed each other’s company, and Ralph saw how Bull’s heart had grown big, and he rejoiced at that. But at last he got up and said: “Now, Lord, we ask for leave to depart—for our road is long and my kindred may be in need of help.”
Then Bull stood up and called for his horse and Otter, and they all went out and mounted up and rode away from Vale Turris, Redhead riding behind them humbly, until it was noon and they stopped to eat. Then, after they had eaten together again and drunk from the cup of the Bull, Otter kissed the travelers and bid them farewell, and so rode back to Vale Turris. Ralph, Ursula, and the Sage did not linger, but went on.
Eventually, Ralph called to Redhead and asked him to ride beside them so they could talk together, and he did so. Ursula greeted him kindly and they spoke cheerfully with one another.
Ralph said to Redhead: “My friend captain, you are quite humble to not ride beside the Lord or Captain Otter, but they are no better than you.”
Redhead grinned and said: “Well, with Otter, that is true, but Lord Bull is another matter. I think his folk may be as good or better than any in these eastern parts. In any case, he talks a lot about his kin and his ancestors, and I’m just a vagrant.[1] But I guess it’s all the same. Whatever Otter tells someone to do, they do it, but my orders are questioned now and then. And see, lord, that times are good, so why should I take a risk to become greater? Both of these great lords have treated me well.”
Ralph laughed and said: “And they will treat you even better, I think, like with Agatha?”
“Yes, fair sir,” said Redhead.
“She seems a small reward for your bravery,” said Ralph, “She is tricky and schemes enough for someone far below your station.”
“Lord,” said Redhead, “you can say about her whatever makes you happy, but no one else but you can say anything about her that makes me unhappy. Even through everything that has happened, she has been true and noble, and no one can say that she is not fair and sweet enough for a better man than me. It is my good luck that she does not (I hope) look for anyone better.”
Ursula said: “It may be that now—being free—she has no more need for scheming.”
“I praise you for these words, my lady,” said Redhead; and then he was quiet, and looked somewhat sourly at Ralph.
But Ralph said, “No, friend, I meant no harm, I was just wondering what happened to bring you two so close together.”
“It was fear and pain, and helping each other that did it,” said Redhead.
Ursula said, “Good Captain, how did she avoid the terrible evil of the tyrant’s grasp? From what I have heard, it seems like she would be blamed (on her mistress’ behalf) for my escape from Utterbol.”
“So it was, my lady,” said Redhead; “but, as you likely know, she had spread a rumor far and wide that she was skilled with sorcery, and that her magic would not end when she died. No, whomever her ghost might bear ill will against—and especially if that person were responsible for her death—their life would be very hard, though not very long. The Lord of Utterbol believed this rumor (which I helped spread) completely, so well was it told. So, long story short, he was afraid of her and was more afraid of her dead than alive. So when he came back and found you gone, my lady, he did in fact think that your escape was Agatha’s doing. Even more so because his nephew (whom you outwitted, and I think I know how) told him a made-up story about how it was all done by Agatha’s spells. He’s a young man who hates everyone, even his uncle, and he hated Agatha and wanted her to suffer the worst tortures, with himself standing by to watch. However, his hatred was his undoing, for his story made her seem even more of a witch than the lord had thought.”
“Yes,” said Ursula, “and what has happened to that evil young man, Captain?”
“Not many know this, lady, but two days before the killing of his uncle, I encountered him in the woods a little way from Utterbol and, because I felt like it, I tied his neck to his heels and a stone, and tossed him into a deep pool in the woodlands which we called the Ram’s Bane. And as for my tale of Agatha, when the lord first came home, he had her brought to him, and his rage overcame his fear for a while. The kindest of his threats against her was whipping and torture and burning, but she was so calm and cold, smiling on him cruelly, that he could not go through with it, even if he kept her alive. At last his fear grew so great that he apologized to her and begged her forgiveness and gave her fits. She responded kindly, but in such a way that everyone knew she felt had earned revenge.[2] As for me, he didn’t notice I was there, and I did my best to stay out of the way. And so we passed the time until he would get what was coming to him.”
At that, he finished talking about Agatha, and they wished him all the luck he could have. In truth, his story made them happy and they liked his mannerisms. He was a brave man, and quick, and one who never forgot a kind deed done for him, as reliable as steel, merry, and kind despite the rural manners that his hard life had forced on him.
Notes:
[1] See previous notes about Bull’s emphasis on family and clan.
[2] Originally: “she deemed she owed him a day in harvest.” Not familiar with this idiom, I googled it and it may come from a Goethe quote, “A day of grace is as a day in harvest; one must be diligent as soon as it is ripe.” I read this as “one must make the most of opportunities.”
