IT TOOK SEVERAL DAYS to completely secure Treille. There were a few stubborn knights1 still loyal to Baldwin. And word of a purported2 reprisal3 from one of the duke's supposed allies. But no reprisal came.
Treille was ours.
Now there was the matter of what to do with it.
There was the issue of the duke's treasury4, which had been fattened5 on the backs of those who now occupied his city. And vast stores of grain and livestock6 had to be redistributed fairly.
A debate raged between those who had been with us from the start and those who joined later about what to do. Georges said give out the keys to the grain holds. Let each man leave with a sack and a hen. Alois said why stop there. Raid the treasury. Redistribute all the money. Put a noose7 to the bastard8!
I wished Emilie were there. I had no skill to govern, nor the urge. I did not know exactly what to do, or what was right.
It was only a matter of time before I would lose my army. The ranks were growing impatient. They wanted to go back to their homes.It's harvest time, they said. When do we get what we were promised?
And not just food and money. They needed laws to protect them. The right to choose: where to live, whom they would serve. If a man was pledged to a lord, need his children and their children be bound by the same pledge? Someone had to rule on such things.
One night, I found a sheaf of paper, Baldwin's seal, and a vial of viscous9, red-tinged ink. I sat down and started to write the most important letter of my life.
To His Majesty10, Philip Capet, Ruler of France,
I pray God grants me the words by which to write this, for I am a humble11 townsman. A bondman, in fact, thrust into a larger role.
I am said to be the leader of a group of brave men. Some call it a rabble12; I call it an outpouring. An outpouring of farmers, tanners, woodsmen-all your servants-who have risen up against our liege lord after repeated cruel and unnecessary attacks.
I write from Treille, Your Majesty, where I sit at Duke Baldwin's own table, his lordship held prisoner, while I await word from you as to what to do next.
We are not traitors13, far from it. We bound together to fight cruel injustice14, and only when it threatened our safety and well-being15. We bound together to demand laws, so that rape16 and murder could not be committed on us freely, and property destroyed without cause. We bound together to free ourselves from a servitude without end.
Is it such an incredible dream, Sire, that all God's men, common and noble alike, should be governed by just laws?
Many who marched with us have served Your Majesty in wars, or taken up the Cross of His Holiness in the ongoing17 struggle against the Turk. We ask only what we have been promised for such service: the right to a fair tax; the right to grievance18 and recompense for harsh penalties forced upon us; the right to face an assailant at trial, noble or not; the right to own land, fairly paid to our lord, for years of labor19 and toil20.
We have done all this with little bloodshed. We have acted in peace and respect. But our ranks grow weary. Please send us word, Your Majesty, of your conviction on such matters.
In return for your judgment21, I offer you the only tribute I have-but, I think, a worthy22 one: the most holy treasure in all of Christendom, thrust into my possession in Antioch.
The very Lance that pierced the Lord Jesus Christ upon the Cross.
It is a treasure worth having, yet amazing as it is, it is not nearly as great as the hearts of these men who serve you.
We await your answer,
In faith, Your humble servant,
Hugh De Luc, Innkeeper, Veille du P?re.
I waited for the ink to dry.
A tightness pulled at my chest. So many had died. Sophie, Matthew, my baby son. Nico, Robert, the Turk. All to get me here?
The lance was leaning against the table. What if I had died in that church at the hands of the Turk? I thought. What if none of this had taken place?
Finally I folded the parchment and bound it with the duke's own seal. I saw that my hands trembled.
A most miraculous23 thing had just taken place. I, a bondman, a jester by trade, a man without a home, without a denier to his name...
I had just addressed a letter to the King of France.
1 knights | |
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 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 purported | |
adj.传说的,谣传的v.声称是…,(装得)像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 reprisal | |
n.报复,报仇,报复性劫掠 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 treasury | |
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 fattened | |
v.喂肥( fatten的过去式和过去分词 );养肥(牲畜);使(钱)增多;使(公司)升值 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 livestock | |
n.家畜,牲畜 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 noose | |
n.绳套,绞索(刑);v.用套索捉;使落入圈套;处以绞刑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 bastard | |
n.坏蛋,混蛋;私生子 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 viscous | |
adj.粘滞的,粘性的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 rabble | |
n.乌合之众,暴民;下等人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 traitors | |
卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 ); 叛徒; 背叛者; 背信弃义的人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 injustice | |
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 well-being | |
n.安康,安乐,幸福 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 rape | |
n.抢夺,掠夺,强奸;vt.掠夺,抢夺,强奸 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 ongoing | |
adj.进行中的,前进的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 grievance | |
n.怨愤,气恼,委屈 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 miraculous | |
adj.像奇迹一样的,不可思议的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |