Chapter 7

Concerning Geffray Teste Noire

And if you meet the Canon of Chimay,

As going to Ortaise you well may do,

Greet him from John of Castel Neuf, and say

All that I tell you, for all this is true.

This Geffray Teste Noire was a Gascon thief,

Who, under shadow of the English name,

Pilled all such towns and countries as were lief

To King Charles and St. Denis; thought it blame

If anything escaped him; so my lord,

The Duke of Berry, sent Sir John Bonne Lance,

And other knights¹, good players with the sword,

To check this thief, and give the land a chance.

Therefore we set our bastides round the tower

That Geffray held, the strong thief! like a king,

High perch’d upon the rock of Ventadour,

Hopelessly strong by Christ! It was mid³ spring,

When first I joined the little army there

With ten good spears; Auvergne is hot, each day

We sweated armed before the barrier;

Good feats⁴ of arms were done there often. Eh?

Your brother was slain⁵ there? I mind me now,

A right good man-at-arms, God pardon him!

I think ’twas Geffray smote⁶ him on the brow

With some spiked⁷ axe⁸, and while he totter’d, dim

About the eyes, the spear of Alleyne Roux

Slipped through his camaille and his throat; well, well!

Alleyne is paid now; your name Alleyne too?

Mary! how strange! but this tale I would tell:

For spite of all our bastides, damned Blackhead

Would ride abroad whene’er he chose to ride,

We could not stop him; many a burgher bled

Dear gold all round his girdle; far and wide

The villaynes dwelt in utter misery⁹

‘Twixt us and thief Sir Geffray; hauled this way

By Sir Bonne Lance at one time; he gone by,

Down comes this Teste Noire on another day.

And therefore they dig up the stone, grind corn,

Hew¹⁰ wood, draw water, yea, they lived, in short,

As I said just now, utterly¹¹ forlorn,

Till this our knave¹² and blackhead was out-fought.

So Bonne Lance fretted¹³, thinking of some trap

Day after day, till on a time he said:

John of Newcastle, if we have good hap¹⁴,

We catch our thief in two days. How? I said.

Why, Sir, today he rideth out again,

Hoping to take well certain sumpter mules¹⁵

From Carcassonne, going with little train,

Because, forsooth, he thinketh us mere¹⁶ fools;

But if we set an ambush¹⁷ in some wood,

He is but dead: so, Sir, take thirty spears

To Verville forest, if it seem you good.

Then felt I like the horse in Job, who hears

The dancing trumpet¹⁸ sound, and we went forth¹⁹;

And my red lion on the spear-head flapped,

As faster than the cool wind we rode north,

Towards the wood of Verville; thus it happed²⁰.

We rode a soft pace on that day, while spies

Got news about Sir Geffray: the red wine

Under the road-side bush was clear; the flies,

The dragon-flies I mind me most, did shine

In brighter arms than ever I put on;

So: Geffray, said our spies, would pass that way

Next day at sundown: then he must be won;

And so we enter’d Verville wood next day,

In the afternoon; through it the highway runs,

‘Twixt copses of green hazel, very thick,

And underneath²¹, with glimmering²² of suns,

The primroses²³ are happy; the dews lick

The soft green moss²⁴: ‘Put cloths about your arms,

Lest they should glitter; surely they will go

In a long thin line, watchful²⁵ for alarms,

With all their carriages of booty; so,

Lay down my pennon in the grass: Lord God.

What have we lying here? will they be cold,

I wonder, being so bare, above the sod,

Instead of under? This was a knight² too, fold

Lying on fold of ancient rusted²⁶ mail;

No plate at all, gold rowels to the spurs,

And see the quiet gleam of turquoise²⁷ pale

Along the ceinture; but the long time blurs²⁸

Even the tinder of his coat to nought²⁹,

Except these scraps³⁰ of leather; see how white

The skull³¹ is, loose within the coif! He fought

A good fight, maybe, ere he was slain quite.

No armour³² on the legs too; strange in faith!

A little skeleton for a knight, though: ah!

This one is bigger, truly without scathe³³

His enemies escaped not! ribs³⁴ driven out far;

That must have reach’d the heart, I doubt: how now,

What say you, Aldovrand, a woman? why?’

Under the coif a gold wreath on the brow,

Yea, see the hair not gone to powder, lie,

Golden, no doubt, once: yea, and very small,

This for a knight; but for a dame³⁵, my lord,

These loose-hung bones seem shapely still, and tall.

Didst ever see a woman’s bones, my Lord?

Often, God help me! I remember when

I was a simple boy, fifteen years old,

The Jacquerie froze up the blood of men

With their fell deeds, not fit now to be told.

God help again! we enter’d Beauvais town,

Slaying³⁶ them fast, whereto I help’d, mere boy

As I was then; we gentles cut them down,

These burners and defilers, with great joy.

Reason for that, too, in the great church there

These fiends had lit a fire, that soon went out,

The church at Beauvais being so great and fair:

My father, who was by me, gave a shout

Between a beast’s howl and a woman’s scream,

Then, panting, chuckled³⁸ to me: ‘John, look! look!

Count the dames’ skeletons!’ From some bad dream

Like a man just awaked, my father shook;

And I, being faint with smelling the burnt bones,

And very hot with fighting down the street,

And sick of such a life, fell down, with groans³⁹

My head went weakly nodding to my feet.

— An arrow had gone through her tender throat,

And her right wrist was broken; then I saw

The reason why she had on that war-coat,

Their story came out clear without a flaw;

For when he knew that they were being waylaid⁴⁰,

He threw it over her, yea, hood⁴¹ and all;

Whereby he was much hack’d, while they were stay’d

By those their murderers; many an one did fall

Beneath his arm, no doubt, so that he clear’d

Their circle, bore his death-wound out of it;

But as they rode, some archer⁴² least afear’d

Drew a strong bow, and thereby⁴³ she was hit.

Still as he rode he knew not she was dead,

Thought her but fainted from her broken wrist,

He bound with his great leathern belt: she bled?

Who knows! he bled too, neither was there miss’d

The beating of her heart, his heart beat well

For both of them, till here, within this wood,

He died scarce sorry; easy this to tell;

After these years the flowers forget their blood.

How could it be? never before that day,

However much a soldier I might be,

Could I look on a skeleton and say

I care not for it, shudder⁴⁴ not: now see,

Over those bones I sat and pored for hours,

And thought, and dream’d, and still I scarce could see

The small white bones that lay upon the flowers,

But evermore I saw the lady; she

With her dear gentle walking leading in,

By a chain of silver twined about her wrists,

Her loving knight, mounted and arm’d to win

Great honour for her, fighting in the lists.

O most pale face, that brings such joy and sorrow

Into men’s hearts (yea, too, so piercing sharp

That joy is, that it marcheth nigh to sorrow

For ever, like an overwinded harp).

Your face must hurt me always: pray you now,

Doth it not hurt you too? seemeth some pain

To hold you always, pain to hold your brow

So smooth, unwrinkled ever; yea again,

Your long eyes where the lids seem like to drop,

Would you not, lady, were they shut fast, feel

Far merrier? there so high they will not stop,

They are most sly to glide⁴⁶ forth and to steal

Into my heart; I kiss their soft lids there,

And in green gardens scarce can stop my lips

From wandering on your face, but that your hair

Falls down and tangles⁴⁷ me, back my face slips.

Or say your mouth, I saw you drink red wine

Once at a feast; how slowly it sank in,

As though you fear’d that some wild fate might twine⁴⁵

Within that cup, and slay³⁷ you for a sin.

And when you talk your lips do arch and move

In such wise that a language new I know

Besides their sound; they quiver, too, with love

When you are standing⁴⁸ silent; know this, too,

I saw you kissing once, like a curved sword

That bites with all its edge, did your lips lie,

Curled gently, slowly, long time could afford

For caught-up breathings: like a dying sigh

They gather’d up their lines and went away,

And still kept twitching⁴⁹ with a sort of smile,

As likely to be weeping presently;

Your hands too, how I watch’d them all the while!

Cry out St. Peter now, quoth Aldovrand;

I cried, St. Peter! broke out from the wood

With all my spears; we met them hand to hand,

And shortly slew⁵⁰ them; natheless, by the rood,

We caught not Blackhead then, or any day;

Months after that he died at last in bed,

From a wound pick’d up at a barrier-fray;

That same year’s end a steel bolt in the head,

And much bad living killed Teste Noire at last;

John Froissart knoweth he is dead by now,

No doubt, but knoweth not this tale just past;

Perchance then you can tell him what I show.

In my new castle, down beside the Eure,

There is a little chapel⁵¹ of squared stone,

Painted inside and out; in green nook pure

There did I lay them, every wearied bone;

And over it they lay, with stone-white hands

Clasped fast together, hair made bright with gold;

This Jaques Picard, known through many lands,

Wrought⁵² cunningly; he’s dead now: I am old.

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：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

2 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

3 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

4 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

5 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

6 smote   

v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Figuratively, he could not kiss the hand that smote him. 打个比方说，他是不能认敌为友。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• \"Whom Pearl smote down and uprooted, most unmercifully.\" 珠儿会毫不留情地将这些\"儿童\"踩倒，再连根拔起。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

7 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

8 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

9 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

10 hew   

v.砍；伐；削

参考例句：

• Hew a path through the underbrush.在灌木丛中砍出一条小路。
• Plant a sapling as tall as yourself and hew it off when it is two times high of you.种一棵与自己身高一样的树苗，长到比自己高两倍时砍掉它。

11 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

12 knave   

n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克

参考例句：

• Better be a fool than a knave.宁做傻瓜，不做无赖。
• Once a knave,ever a knave.一次成无赖，永远是无赖。

13 fretted   

焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的

参考例句：

• The wind whistled through the twigs and fretted the occasional, dirty-looking crocuses. 寒风穿过枯枝，有时把发脏的藏红花吹刮跑了。 来自英汉文学
• The lady's fame for hitting the mark fretted him. 这位太太看问题深刻的名声在折磨着他。

14 hap   

n.运气；v.偶然发生

参考例句：

• Some have the hap,some stick in the gap.有的人走运, 有的人倒霉。
• May your son be blessed by hap and happiness.愿你儿子走运幸福。

15 mules   

骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者

参考例句：

• The cart was pulled by two mules. 两匹骡子拉这辆大车。
• She wore tight trousers and high-heeled mules. 她穿紧身裤和拖鞋式高跟鞋。

16 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

17 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

18 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

19 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

20 happed   

v.偶然发生( hap的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I remember quite clearly nom when the story happed. 我仍清楚地记得故事发生的时候。 来自互联网
• Dont cry berause it over, smile because it happed. 不要因为完结而哭泣，要为曾经发生面微笑。 来自互联网

21 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

22 glimmering   

n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

23 primroses   

n.报春花( primrose的名词复数 )；淡黄色；追求享乐（招至恶果）

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The primroses were bollming; spring was in evidence. 迎春花开了，春天显然已经到了。 来自互联网

24 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

25 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

26 rusted   

v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝，它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了，需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 turquoise   

n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的

参考例句：

• She wore a string of turquoise round her neck.她脖子上戴着一串绿宝石。
• The women have elaborate necklaces of turquoise.那些女人戴着由绿松石制成的精美项链。

28 blurs   

n.模糊( blur的名词复数 )；模糊之物；（移动的）模糊形状；模糊的记忆v.（使）变模糊( blur的第三人称单数 )；（使）难以区分

参考例句：

• The electron clouds are clearly visible as blurs surrounding the invisible nuclei. 电子云就象环绕着看不见的核的一片云雾。 来自辞典例句
• The letter had many blots and blurs. 信上有许多墨水渍和污迹。 来自辞典例句

29 nought   

n.／adj.无，零

参考例句：

• We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
• One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。

30 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

31 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

32 armour   

（=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队

参考例句：

• His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。

33 scathe   

v.损伤；n.伤害

参考例句：

• The child scathe its fingers while playing with a match.那孩子玩火柴时把手指烧伤了。
• He scathe his opponent's honor with rumor.他用谣言破坏对手的名誉。

34 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

35 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

36 slaying   

杀戮。

参考例句：

• The man mimed the slaying of an enemy. 此人比手划脚地表演砍死一个敌人的情况。
• He is suspected of having been an accomplice in the slaying,butthey can't pin it on him. 他有嫌疑曾参与该杀人案，但他们找不到证据来指控他。

37 slay   

v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮

参考例句：

• He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
• She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。

38 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

39 groans   

n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• There were loud groans when he started to sing. 他刚开始歌唱时有人发出了很大的嘘声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was a weird old house, full of creaks and groans. 这是所神秘而可怕的旧宅，到处嘎吱嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

40 waylaid   

v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I got waylaid on my way here. 我在来这里的路上遭到了拦路抢劫。
• He was waylaid by thieves. 他在路上被抢了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

41 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

42 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

43 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

44 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

45 twine   

v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕

参考例句：

• He tied the parcel with twine.他用细绳捆包裹。
• Their cardboard boxes were wrapped and tied neatly with waxed twine.他们的纸板盒用蜡线扎得整整齐齐。

46 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

47 tangles   

（使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Long hair tangles easily. 长头发容易打结。
• Tangles like this still interrupted their intercourse. 像这类纠缠不清的误会仍然妨碍着他们的交情。

48 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

49 twitching   

n.颤搐

参考例句：

• The child in a spasm kept twitching his arms and legs. 那个害痉挛的孩子四肢不断地抽搐。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My eyelids keep twitching all the time. 我眼皮老是跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

50 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

51 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

52 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。