The Emperor was unreasonably3 partial to his eldest4 son; he would have been glad to have had the barons and peers demand Charlot for their only sovereign; but that prince was so infamous5, for his falsehood and cruelty, that the council strenuously6 opposed the Emperor’s proposal of abdicating7, and implored8 him to continue to hold a sceptre which he wielded9 with so much glory.
Amaury of Hauteville, cousin of Ganelon, and now head of the wicked branch of the house of Maganza, was the secret partisan10 of Charlot, whom he resembled in his loose morals and bad dispositions12. Amaury nourished the most bitter resentment13 against the house of Guienne, of which the former Duke, Sevinus, had often rebuked14 his misdeeds. He took advantage of this occasion to do an injury to the two young children whom the Duke Sevinus had left under the charge of the Duchess Alice, their mother; and at the same time, to advance his interest with Charlot by increasing his wealth and power. With this view he suggested to the prince a new idea.
He pretended to agree with the opinion of the barons; he said that it would be best to try Charlot’s capacity for government by giving him some rich provinces before placing him upon the throne; and that the Emperor, without depriving himself of any part of his realm, might give Charlot the investiture of Guienne. For although seven years had passed since the death of Sevinus, the young Duke, his son, had not yet repaired to the court of Charlemagne to render the homage15 due to his lawful16 sovereign.
We have often had occasion to admire the justice and wisdom of the advice which on all occasions the Duke Namo of Bavaria gave to Charlemagne, and he now discountenanced, with indignation, the selfish advice of Amaury. He represented to the Emperor the early age of the children of Sevinus, and the useful and glorious services of their late father, and proposed to Charlemagne to send two knights18 to the Duchess at Bordeaux, to summon her two sons to the court of the Emperor, to pay their respects and render homage.
Charlemagne approved this advice, and sent two chevaliers to demand the two young princes of their mother. No sooner had the Duchess learned the approach of the two knights, than she sent distinguished19 persons to receive them; and as soon as they entered the palace she presented herself before them, with her elder and younger sons, Huon and Girard.
The deputies, delighted with the honors and caresses20 they received, accompanied with rich presents, left Bordeaux with regret and on their return represented to Charlemagne that the young Duke Huon seemed born to tread in the footsteps of his brave father, informing him that in three months the young princes of Guienne would present themselves at his court.
The Duchess employed the short interval21 in giving her sons her last instructions. Huon received them in his heart, and Girard gave as much heed22 to them as could be expected from one so young.
The preparations for their departure having been made, the Duchess embraced them tenderly, commending them to the care of Heaven, and charged them to call, on their way, at the celebrated23 monastery24 of Cluny, to visit the Abbot, the brother of their father. This Abbot, worthy25 of his high dignity, had never lost an opportunity of doing good, setting an example of every excellence26, and making virtue27 attractive by his example.
He received his nephews with the greatest magnificence; and, aware how useful his presence might be to them with Charlemagne, whose valued counsellor he was, he took with them the road to Paris.
When Amaury learned what reception the two deputies of Charlemagne had received at Bordeaux, and the arrangements made for the visit of the young princes to the Emperor’s court, he suggested to Charlot to give him a troop of his guards, with which he proposed to lay wait for the young men in the wood of Montlery, put them to death, and thereby28 give the prince Charlot possession of the duchy of Guienne.
A plan of treachery and violence agreed but too well with Charlot’s disposition11. He not only adopted the suggestion of Amaury, but insisted upon taking a part in it. They went out secretly, by night, followed by a great number of attendants, all armed in black, to lie in ambuscade in the wood where the brothers were to pass.
Girard, the younger of the two, having amused himself as he rode by flying his hawk29 at such game as presented itself, had ridden in advance of his brother and the Abbot of Cluny. Charlot, who saw him coming, alone and unarmed, went forth30 to meet him, sought a quarrel with him, and threw him from his horse with a stroke of his lance. Girard uttered a cry as he fell; Huon heard it, and flew to his defence, with no other weapon than his sword. He came up with him, and saw the blood flowing from his wound. “What has this child done to you, wretch31!” he exclaimed to Charlot. “How cowardly to attack him when unprepared to defend himself!” “By my faith,” said Charlot, “I mean to do the same by you. Know that I am the son of Duke Thierry of Ardennes, from whom your father, Sevinus, took three castles; I have sworn to avenge32 him, and I defy you.” “Coward,” answered Huon, “I know well the baseness that dwells in your race; worthy son of Thierry, use the advantage that your armor gives you; but know that I fear you not.” At these words Charlot had the wickedness to put his lance in rest, and to run upon Huon, who had barely time to wrap his arm in his mantle33. With this feeble buckler he received the thrust of the lance. It penetrated34 the mantle, but missed his body. Then, rising upon his stirrups, Sir Huon struck Charlot so terrible a blow with his sword that the helmet was cleft35 asunder36, and his head too. The dastardly prince fell dead upon the ground.
Huon now perceived that the wood was full of armed men. He called the men of his suite37, and they hastily put themselves in order, but nobody issued from the wood to attack him. Amaury, who saw Charlot’s fall, had no desire to compromit himself; and, feeling sure that Charlemagne would avenge the death of his son, he saw no occasion for his doing anything more at present. He left Huon and the Abbot of Cluny to bind38 up the wound of Girard, and, having seen them depart and resume their way to Paris, he took up the body of Charlot, and, placing it across a horse, had it carried to Paris, where he arrived four hours after Huon.
The Abbot of Cluny presented his nephew to Charlemagne, but Huon refrained from paying his obeisance39, complaining grievously of the ambush40 which had been set for him, which he said could not have been without the Emperor’s permission. Charlemagne, surprised at a charge which his magnanimous soul was incapable41 of meriting, asked eagerly of the Abbot what were the grounds of the complaints of his nephew. The Abbot told him faithfully all that had happened, informing him that a coward knight17, who called himself the son of Thierry of Ardennes, had wounded Girard, and run upon Huon, who was unarmed; but by his force and valor42 he had overcome the traitor43, and left him dead upon the plain.
Charlemagne indignantly disavowed any connection with the action of the infamous Thierry, congratulated the young Duke upon his victory, himself conducted the two brothers to a rich apartment, stayed to see the first dressing44 applied45 to the wound of Girard, and left the brothers in charge of Duke Namo of Bavaria, who, having been a companion in arms of the Duke Sevinus, regarded the young men almost as if they were his own sons.
Charlemagne had hardly quitted them when, returning to his chamber46, he heard cries, and saw through the window a party of armed men just arrived. He recognized Amaury, who bore a dead knight stretched across a horse; and the name of Charlot was heard among the exclamations47 of the people assembled in the courtyard.
Charles’s partiality for this unworthy son was one of his weaknesses. He descended48 in trepidation49 to the courtyard, ran to Amaury, and uttered a cry of grief on recognizing Charlot. “It is Huon of Bordeaux,” said the traitor Amaury, “who has massacred your son before it was in my power to defend him.” Charlemagne, furious at these words, seized a sword, and flew to the apartment of the two brothers to plunge50 it into the heart of the murderer of his son. Duke Namo stopped his hand for an instant, while Charles told him the crime of which Huon was accused. “He is a peer of the realm,” said Namo, “and if he is guilty, is he not here in your power, and are not we peers the proper judges to condemn51 him to death? Let not your hand be stained with his blood.” The Emperor, calmed by the wisdom of Duke Namo, summoned Amaury to his presence. The peers assembled to hear his testimony52, and the traitor accused Huon of Bordeaux of having struck the fatal blow without allowing Charlot an opportunity to defend himself, and though he knew that his opponent was the Emperor’s eldest son.
The Abbot of Cluny, indignant at the false accusation53 of Amaury, advanced, and said, “By Saint Benedict, sire, the traitor lies in his throat. If my nephew has slain54 Charlot it was in his own defence, and after having seen his brother wounded by him, and also in ignorance that his adversary55 was the prince. Though I am a son of the Church,” added the good Abbot, “I forget not that I am a knight by birth. I offer to prove with my body the lie upon Amaury, if he dares sustain it, and I shall feel that I am doing a better work to punish a disloyal traitor, than to sing lauds56 and matins.”
Huon to this time had kept silent, amazed at the black calumny57 of Amaury; but now he stepped forth, and, addressing Amaury, said: “Traitor! darest thou maintain in arms the lie thou hast uttered?” Amaury, a knight of great prowess, despising the youth and slight figure of Huon, hesitated not to offer his glove, which Huon seized; then, turning again to the peers, he said: “I pray you let the combat be allowed me, for never was there a more legitimate58 cause.” The Duke Namo and the rest, deciding that the question should be remitted59 to the judgment60 of Heaven, the combat was ordained61, to which Charlemagne unwillingly62 consented. The young Duke was restored to the charge of Duke Namo, who the next morning invested him with the honors of knighthood, and gave him armor of proof, with a white shield. The Abbot of Cluny, delighted to find in his nephew sentiments worthy of his birth, embraced him, gave him his blessing63, and hastened to the church of St. Germains to pray for him, while the officers of the king prepared the lists for the combat.
The battle was long and obstinate64. The address and agility65 of Huon enabled him to avoid the terrible blows which the ferocious66 Amaury aimed at him. But Huon had more than once drawn67 blood from his antagonist68. The effect began to be perceived in the failing strength of the traitor; at last he threw himself from his horse, and kneeling, begged for mercy. “Spare me,” he said, “and I will confess all. Aid me to rise, and lead me to Charlemagne.” The brave and loyal Huon, at these words, put his sword under his left arm, and stretched out his right to raise the prostrate69 man, who seized the opportunity to give him a thrust in the side. The hauberk of Huon resisted the blow, and he was wounded but slightly. Transported with rage at this act of baseness, he forgot how necessary for his complete acquittal the confession70 of Amaury was, and without delay dealt him the fatal blow.
Duke Namo and the other peers approached, had the body of Amaury dragged forth from the lists, and conducted Huon to Charlemagne. The Emperor, however, listening to nothing but his resentment and grief for the death of his son, refused to be satisfied; and under the plea that Huon had not succeeded in making his accuser retract71 his charge seemed resolved to confiscate72 his estates and to banish73 him forever from France. It was not till after long entreaties74 on the part of Duke Namo and the rest that he consented to grant Huon his pardon, under conditions which he should impose.
Huon approached, and knelt before the Emperor, rendered his homage, and cried him mercy for the involuntary killing75 of his son. Charlemagne would not receive the hands of Huon in his own, but touched him with his sceptre, saying, “I receive thy homage, and pardon thee the death of my son, but only on one condition. You shall go immediately to the court of the Sultan Gaudisso; you shall present yourself before him as he sits at meat; you shall cut off the head of the most illustrious guest whom you shall find sitting nearest to him; you shall kiss three times on the mouth the fair princess, his daughter, and you shall demand of the Sultan, as token of tribute to me, a handful of the white hair of his beard, and four grinders from his mouth.”
These conditions caused a murmur76 from all the assembly. “What!” said the Abbot of Cluny; “slaughter a Saracen prince without first offering him baptism?” “The second condition is not so hard,” said the young peers, “but the demand that Huon is bound to make of the old Sultan is very uncivil, and will be hard to obtain.”
The Emperor’s obstinacy77 when he had once resolved upon a thing is well known. To the courage of Huon nothing seemed impossible. “I accept the conditions,” said he, silencing the intercessions of the old Duke of Bavaria; “my liege, I accept my pardon at this price. I go to execute your commands, as your vassal78 and a peer of France.”
The Duke Namo and Abbot of Cluny, being unable to obtain any relaxation79 of the sentence passed by Charlemagne, led forth the young Duke, who determined80 to set out at once on his expedition. All that the good Abbot could obtain of him was, that he should prepare for this perilous81 undertaking82 by going first to Rome, to pay his homage to the Pope, who was the brother of the Duchess Alice, Huon’s mother, and from him demand absolution and his blessing. Huon promised it, and forthwith set out on his way to Rome.
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1
barons
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| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
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abdicate
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| v.让位，辞职，放弃 | |
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unreasonably
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| adv. 不合理地 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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strenuously
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| adv.奋发地，费力地 | |
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abdicating
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| 放弃（职责、权力等）( abdicate的现在分词 )； 退位，逊位 | |
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implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wielded
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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partisan
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| adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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rebuked
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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obeisance
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| n.鞠躬，敬礼 | |
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ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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48
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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49
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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50
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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51
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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52
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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53
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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54
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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55
adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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56
lauds
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| v.称赞，赞美( laud的第三人称单数 ) | |
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57
calumny
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| n.诽谤，污蔑，中伤 | |
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58
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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59
remitted
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| v.免除（债务），宽恕( remit的过去式和过去分词 )；使某事缓和；寄回，传送 | |
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60
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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61
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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62
unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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71
retract
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| vt.缩回，撤回收回，取消 | |
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72
confiscate
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| v.没收(私人财产)，把…充公 | |
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banish
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| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
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entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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75
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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76
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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78
vassal
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| n.附庸的；属下；adj.奴仆的 | |
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79
relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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80
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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81
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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82
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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