Then all men fell to pitching of tents and tilting5 over of wains; for the April sun was hot in the Dale, and when he arose the meads were gay with more than the spring flowers; for the tents and the tilts6 were stained and broidered with many colours, and there was none who had not furbished up his war-gear so that all shone and glittered. And many wore gay surcoats over their armour7, and the women were clad in all their bravery, and the Houses mostly of a suit; for one bore blue and another corn-colour, and another green, and another brazil, and so forth8, and all gleaming and glowing with broidery of gold and bright hues9. But the women of the Shepherds were all clad in white, embroidered10 with green boughs11 and red blossoms, and the Woodland women wore dark red kirtles. Moreover, the women had set garlands of flowers on their heads and the helms of the men, and for the most part they were slim of body and tall and light-limbed, and as dainty to look upon as the willow-boughs that waved on the brook-side.
Thither had the goodmen who were guesting the Runaways12 brought their guests, even now much bettered by their new soft days; and much the poor folk marvelled13 at all this joyance, and they scarce knew where they were; but to some it brought back to their minds days of joyance before the thralldom and all that they had lost, so that their hearts were heavy a while, till they saw the warriors14 of the kindreds streaming into the mead1 and bethought them why they carried steel.
Now by then the sun was fully15 up there was a great throng16 on the Portway, and this was the folk of the Burg on their way to the Weapon-mead. The men-at-arms were in the midst of the throng, and at the head of them was the War-leader, with the banner of the Face before him, wherein was done the image of the God with the ray-ringed head. But at the rearward of the warriors went the Alderman and the Burg-wardens17, before whom was borne the banner of the Burg pictured with the Gate and its Towers; but in the midst betwixt those two was the banner of the Steer18, a white beast on a green field.
So when the Dale-wardens who were down in the meadow heard the music and beheld19 who were coming, they bade the companies of the Dale and the Shepherds and the Woodlanders who were down there to pitch their banners in a half circle about the ingle of the meadow which was made by the streams of Wildlake and the Weltering Water, and gather to them to be ordered there under their leaders of scores and half-hundreds and hundreds; and even so they did. But the banners of the Dale without the Burg were the Bridge, and the Bull, and the Vine, and the Sickle20. And the Shepherds had three banners, to wit Greenbury, and the Fleece, and the Thorn.
As for the Woodlanders, they said that they were abiding21 their great banner, but it should come in good time; ‘and meantime,’ said they, ‘here are the war-tokens that we shall fight under; for they are good enough banners for us poor men, the remnant of the valiant22 of time past.’ Therewith they showed two great spears, and athwart the one was tied an arrow, its point dipped in blood, its feathers singed23 with fire; and they said, ‘This is the banner of the War-shaft.’
On the other spear there was nought24; but the head thereof was great and long, and they had so burnished25 the steel that the sun smote26 out a ray of light from it, so that it might be seen from afar. And they said: ‘This is the Banner of the Spear! Down yonder where the ravens27 are gathering28 ye shall see a banner flying over us. There shall fall many a mother’s son.’
Smiled the Dale-wardens, and said that these were good banners to fight under; and those that stood nearby shouted for the valiancy of the Woodland Carles.
Now the Dale-wardens went to the entrance from the Portway to the meadow, and there met the Men of the Burg, and two of them went one on either side of the War-leader to show him to his seat, and the others abode29 till the Alderman and Burg-wardens came up, and then joined themselves to them, and the horns blew up both in the meadow and on the road, and the new-comers went their ways to their appointed places amidst the shouts of the Dalesmen; and the women and children and old men from the Burg followed after, till all the mead was covered with bright raiment and glittering gear, save within the ring of men at the further end.
So came the War-leader to his seat of green turf raised in the ingle aforesaid; and he stood beside it till the Alderman and Wardens had taken their places on a seat behind him raised higher than his; below him on the step of his seat sat the Scrivener with his pen and ink-horn and scroll30 of parchment, and men had brought him a smooth shield whereon to write.
On the left side of Face-of-god stood the men of the Face all glittering in their arms, and amongst them were Wolf-stone and his two fellows, but Dallach was not yet whole of his hurts. On his right were the folk of the House of the Steer: the leader of that House was an old white-bearded man, grandfather of the Bride, for her father was dead; and who but the Bride herself stood beside him in her glorious war-gear, looking as if she were new come from the City of the Gods, thought most men; but those who beheld her closely deemed that she looked heavy-eyed and haggard, as if she were aweary. Nevertheless, wheresoever she passed, and whosoever looked on her (and all men looked on her), there arose a murmur31 of praise and love; and the women, and especially the young ones, said how fair her deed was, and how meet she was for it; and some of them were for doing on war-gear and faring to battle with the carles; and of these some were sober and solemn, as was well seen afterwards, and some spake lightly: some also fell to boasting of how they could run and climb and swim and shoot in the bow, and fell to baring of their arms to show how strong they were: and indeed they were no weaklings, though their arms were fair.
There then stood the ring of men, each company under its banner; and beyond them stood the women and children and men unmeet for battle; and beyond them again the tilted32 wains and the tents.
Now Face-of-god sat him down on the turf-seat with his bright helm on his head and his naked sword across his knees, while the horns blew up loudly, and when they had done, the elder of the Dale-wardens cried out for silence. Then again arose Face-of-god and said:
‘Men of the Dale, and ye friends of the Shepherds, and ye, O valiant Woodlanders; we are not assembled here to take counsel, for in three days’ time shall the Great Folk-mote be holden, whereat shall be counsel enough. But since I have been appointed your Chief and War-leader, till such time as the Folk-mote shall either yeasay or naysay my leadership, I have sent for you that we may look each other in the face and number our host and behold34 our weapons, and see if we be meet for battle and for the dealing35 with a great host of foemen. For now no longer can it be said that we are going to war, but rather that war is on our borders, and we are blended with it; as many have learned to their cost; for some have been slain36 and some sorely hurt. Therefore I bid you now, all ye that are weaponed, wend past us that the tale of you may be taken. But first let every hundred-leader and half-hundred-leader and score-leader make sure that he hath his tale aright, and give his word to the captain of his banner that he in turn may give it out to the Scrivener with his name and the House and Company that he leadeth.’
So he spake and sat him adown; and the horns blew again in token that the companies should go past; and the first that came was Hall-ward of the House of the Steer, and the first of those that went after him was the Bride, going as if she were his son.
So he cried out his name, and the name of his House, and said, ‘An hundred and a half,’ and passed forth, his men following him in most goodly array. Each man was girt with a good sword and bore a long heavy spear over his shoulder, save a score who bare bows; and no man lacked a helm, a shield, and a coat of fence.
Then came a goodly man of thirty winters, and stayed before the Scrivener and cried out:
‘Write down the House of the Bridge of the Upper Dale at one hundred, and War-well their leader.’
And he strode on, and his men followed clad and weaponed like those of the Steer, save that some had axes hanging to their girdles instead of swords; and most bore casting-spears instead of the long spears, and half a score were bowmen.
Then came Fox of Upton leading the men of the Bull of Middale, an hundred and a half lacking two; very great and tall were his men, and they also bore long spears, and one score and two were bowmen.
Then Fork-beard of Lea, a man well on in years, led on the men of the Vine, an hundred and a half and five men thereto; two score of them bare bow in hand and were girt with sword; the rest bore their swords naked in their right hands, and their shields (which were but small bucklers) hanging at their backs, and in the left hand each bore two casting-spears. With these went two doughty38 women-at-arms among the bowmen, tall and well-knit, already growing brown with the spring sun, for their work lay among the stocks of the vines on the southward-looking bents.
Next came a tall young man, yellow-haired, with a thin red beard, and gave himself out for Red-beard of the Knolls39; he bore his father’s name, as the custom of their house was, but the old man, who had long been head man of the House of the Sickle, was late dead in his bed, and the young man had not seen twenty winters. He bade the Scrivener write the tale of the Men of the Sickle at an hundred and a half, and his folk fared past the War-leader joyously40, being one half of them bowmen; and fell shooters they were; the other half were girt with swords, and bore withal long ashen41 staves armed with great blades curved inwards, which weapon they called heft-sax.
All these bands, as the name and the tale of them was declared were greeted with loud shouts from their fellows and the bystanders; but now arose a greater shout still, as Stone-face, clad in goodly glittering array, came forth and said:
‘I am Stone-face of the House of the Face, and I bring with me two hundreds of men with their best war-gear and weapons: write it down, Scrivener!’
And he strode on like a young man after those who had gone past, and after him came the tall Hall-face and his men, a gallant42 sight to see: two score bowmen girt with swords, and the others with naked swords waving aloft, and each bearing two casting-spears in his left hand.
Then came a man of middle age, broad-shouldered, yellow-haired, blue-eyed, of wide and ruddy countenance43, and after him a goodly company; and again great was the shout that went up to the heavens; for he said:
‘Scrivener, write down that Hound-under-Greenbury, from amongst the dwellers44 in the hills where the sheep feed, leadeth the men who go under the banner of Greenbury, to the tale of an hundred and four score.’
Therewith he passed on, and his men followed, stout45, stark46, and merry-faced, girt with swords, and bearing over their shoulders long-staved axes, and spears not so long as those which the Dalesmen bore; and they had but a half score of arrow-shot with them.
Next came a young man, blue-eyed also, with hair the colour of flax on the distaff, broad-faced and short-nosed, low of stature47, but very strong-built, who cried out in a loud, cheerful voice:
‘I am Strongitharm of the Shepherds, and these valiant men are of the Fleece and the Thorn blended together, for so they would have it; and their tale is one hundred and two score and ten.’
Then the men of those kindreds went past merry and shouting, and they were clad and weaponed like to them of Greenbury, but had with them a score of bowmen. And all these Shepherd-folk wore over their hauberks white woollen surcoats broidered with green and red.
Now again uprose the cry, and there stood before the War-leader a very tall man of fifty winters, dark-faced and grey-eyed, and he spake slowly and somewhat softly, and said:
‘War-leader, this is Red-wolf of the Woodlanders leading the men who go under the sign of the War-shaft, to the number of an hundred and two.’
Then he passed on, and his men after him, tall, lean, and silent amidst the shouting. All these men bare bows, for they were keen hunters; each had at his girdle a little axe37 and a wood-knife, and some had long swords withal. They wore, everyone of the carles, short green surcoats over their coats of fence; but amongst them were three women who bore like weapons to the men, but were clad in red kirtles under their hauberks, which were of good ring-mail gleaming over them from throat to knee.
Last came another tall man, but young, of twenty-five winters, and spake:
‘Scrivener, I am Bears-bane of the Woodlanders, and these that come after me wend under the sign of the Spear, and they are of the tale of one hundred and seven.’
And he passed by at once, and his men followed him, clad and weaponed no otherwise than they of the War-shaft, and with them were two women.
Now went all those companies back to their banners, and stood there; and there arose among the bystanders much talk concerning the Weapon-show, and who were the best arrayed of the Houses. And of the old men, some spake of past weapon-shows which they had seen in their youth, and they set them beside this one, and praised and blamed. So it went on a little while till the horns blew again, and once more there was silence. Then arose Face-of-god and said:
‘Men of Burgdale, and ye Shepherd-folk, and ye of the Woodland, now shall ye wot how many weaponed men we may bring together for this war. Scrivener, arise and give forth the tale of the companies, as they have been told unto you.’
Then the Scrivener stood up on the turf-bench beside Face-of-god, and spake in a loud voice, reading from his scroll:
‘Of the Men of Burgdale there have passed by me nine hundreds and six; of the Shepherds three hundreds and eight and ten; and of the Woodlanders two hundreds and nine; so that all told our men are fourteen hundreds and thirty and three.’
Now in those days men reckoned by long hundreds, so that the whole tale of the host was one thousand, five hundred, and four score and one, telling the tale in short hundreds.
When the tale had been given forth and heard, men shouted again, and they rejoiced that they were so many. For it exceeded the reckoning which the Alderman had given out at the Gate-thing. But Face-of-god said:
‘Neighbours, we have held our Weapon-show; but now hold you ready, each man, for the Hosting toward very battle; for belike within seven days shall the leaders of hundreds and twenties summon you to be ready in arms to take whatso fortune may befall. Now is sundered48 the Weapon-show. Be ye as merry to-day as your hearts bid you to be.’
Therewith he came down from his seat with the Alderman and the Wardens, and they mingled49 with the good folk of the Dale and the Shepherds and the Woodlanders, and merry was their converse50 there. It yet lacked an hour of noon; so presently they fell to and feasted in the green meadow, drinking from wain to wain and from tent to tent; and thereafter they played and sported in the meads, shooting at the butts51 and wrestling, and trying other masteries. Then they fell to dancing one and all, and so at last to supper on the green grass in great merriment. Nor might you have known from the demeanour of any that any threat of evil overhung the Dale. Nay33, so glad were they, and so friendly, that you might rather have deemed that this was the land whereof tales tell, wherein people die not, but live for ever, without growing any older than when they first come thither, unless they be born into the land itself, and then they grow into fair manhood, and so abide52. In sooth, both the land and the folk were fair enough to be that land and the folk thereof.
But a little after sunset they sundered, and some fared home; but many of them abode in the tents and tilted wains, because the morrow was the first day of the Spring Market: and already were some of the Westland chapmen come; yea, two of them were with the bystanders in the meadow; and more were looked for ere the night was far spent.
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1
mead
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| n.蜂蜜酒 | |
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cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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asses
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| n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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tilting
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| 倾斜，倾卸 | |
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tilts
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| （意欲赢得某物或战胜某人的）企图，尝试( tilt的名词复数 ) | |
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7
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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9
hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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10
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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runaways
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| （轻而易举的）胜利( runaway的名词复数 ) | |
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marvelled
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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wardens
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| n.看守人( warden的名词复数 )；管理员；监察员；监察官 | |
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steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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19
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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sickle
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| n.镰刀 | |
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abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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24
nought
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| n.／adj.无，零 | |
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burnished
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| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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ravens
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| n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 ) | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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scroll
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| n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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36
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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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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doughty
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| adj.勇猛的，坚强的 | |
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knolls
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| n.小圆丘，小土墩( knoll的名词复数 ) | |
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joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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41
ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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42
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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43
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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44
dwellers
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| n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
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46
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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47
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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48
sundered
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| v.隔开，分开( sunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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50
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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51
butts
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| 笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂 | |
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52
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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