Amadis of Gaul

Chapter 64 [part 1 of 4]

2013-05-21T09:52:00.000+02:00

How Oriana fell into great sorrow over the departure of Amadis and the other knights, and even more to find herself pregnant; and how twelve knights who were at Firm Island with Amadis arrived to protect Madasima and the other damsels with her who were facing death without just cause.

[From Wilhelm von Orlens by Rudolf von Ems, the story of the love between Wilhelm von Orlens and Princess Amelie. The illumination was made in the workshop of Diebold Lauber in about 1450 to 1470.]

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It has been told to you how Amadis was with his lady Oriana at Miraflores Castle for eight days, and it seems that during that time Oriana was made pregnant. She did not realize it, since she was a person with little knowledge of such matters, until she suffered a great change and weakness in her health. And when she understood it, she took Mabilia and the Damsel of Denmark aside and told them, weeping:

“Oh, my great friends! What shall become of me? As I see it, my death is near, which I had always suspected.”

They thought she spoke about the separation from her beloved and her loneliness, and consoled her as they had before. But she said:

“Another trouble has come to me along with this one, which puts us in the greatest ill fortune and danger. And, truly, it is that I am pregnant.”

Then she described the signs so that they would believe her, and they knew that her suspicion was true. They were very frightened but they did not let her see that. Mabilia said:

“My lady, do not be afraid, for everything will have its good remedy. I have always believed the saying: “Some sports yield certain prizes’.”

Oriana, although she was very anxious, could not keep herself from laughing, and she said:

“My friends, now we need to decide how to solve this, and it would be good if I immediately seemed more afflicted and weak, and if I avoided the company of everyone I can except you, and when the necessity comes, to solve it with the least suspicion.”

“So it shall be done,” they said, “and may God put it right. Now we must decide what shall be done with the infant when it is born.”

“I shall tell you,” Oriana said. “The Damsel of Denmark, if she pleases to ease my anguish and pain, will let her honor be diminished so that mine and my life may be saved.”

“My lady,” she said, “I have no life or honor other than what ye will. So give the order, and I shall fulfill it unto death.”

“My good friend,” she said, “I had hoped for that from you, and I shall repay the honor that you now risk for me in even greater degree if I live.”

The Damsel knelt and kissed her hands. Oriana told her:

“Then, my good friend, this is what ye shall do: go sometimes to see Balasta, the abbess of my monastery in Miraflores, as ye go about doing other things, and when the time of my childbirth comes, go to her and tell her that ye are pregnant and beg her that besides keeping your secret, she shall provide the solution for the newborn, whom ye shall place at the door of the church, and ask that he be raised as a child of God. I know she will do it because she loves you dearly. And this way my pregnancy will be hidden, and ye shall not be in great peril, for this shall only be known by that honorable lady, who will keep your secret.”

“So it shall be done,” the Damsel said. “Ye have thought this through well.”

And for now, this concern shall wait until its proper time, and we shall speak of King Lisuarte.

When he learned that the giantess Gromadaza did not want to deliver the castle at Boiling Lake and the other castles to him, as we have already recounted, he ordered Madasima and her damsels brought before him, as he had been advised by Gandandel and Brocadan. When they were in his presence, he told them:

“Madasima, ye know how ye entered my prison under the agreement that if your mother did not deliver the island of Mongaza in the Burning Lake and the other castles to me, ye and your damsels would be beheaded. And now, I have learned from the men I sent there, that she will not comply with what she promised. That being the case, I wish that your death and the deaths of these damsels be an example and lesson to those who make agreements with me, so that they do not dare to lie.”

When Madasima heard this, her great beauty and lively color became yellow. She knelt before the King and said:

“My lord, the fear of death makes my heart even weaker than it naturally is, since I am a tender damsel. So I am left with no sense at all, and I do not know how to respond. If there is some knight in your court who could rightly speak for me, understanding that I was placed in this prison against my will, he would do what he must according to the rules of knighthood and respond on behalf of all women in such situations. And if there is not, ye, my lord, who has never failed a lady or damsel in tribulation, order that I be given a hearing, and do not let anger and ire overcome the justice that as a King ye must seek.”

Gandandel, who felt very eager for her death, hoping it would further inflame the enmity between King Lisuarte and Amadis, said:

“My lord, by no means should these damsels be heard under any condition because they were condemned to death unless the land is delivered to you. So immediately and without any further delay, justice should be executed.”

Sir Grumedan, tutor of the Queen, who was a very loyal knight and very wise in issues of honor as well as very experienced in deeds of arms, with his subtle and well-read ingenuity, said:

“The King shall not do this, may it please God, nor shall he cause such cruelty nor immoderation, for this damsel was placed in this situation more by the obedience she owes to her mother than by her own will. And so, just as what is humbly done in secret shall receive thanks from God, in public the King must do His duty following His doctrines. As well, I have learned that within three days some knights from Firm Island will be here to plead for those damsels, and if you, Sir Gandandel, or your sons, wish to show what ye said here to be true, ye shall find someone to respond to you among them.”

Gandandel told him:

“Sir Grumedan, if ye wish me ill, I have never deserved it from you, and if ye have had some affront with my sons, ye well know that they shall uphold as knights everything that I have said.”

“We shall see soon,” Sir Grumedan said, “and to you I wish no more ill or good than what is due for the way I see you counsel the King.”

The King, although he had erred against Amadis without reason, considered that he might have to further anger him in these matters, but his new passion could not overcome his old and accustomed virtue. When he heard what Sir Grumedan said, he was very pleased and asked which knights were coming to free the damsels. Grumedan recounted them all by name.

“A fine group of good and wise knights,” the King said.

When Gandandel heard them named, he was very frightened and regretted what he had said about his sons, for he knew well that their skill did not come close to equaling that of Sir Florestan, Agrajes, Brian of Monjaste, and Gavarte of Valtemoroso. As soon as the King had ordered Madasima and her damsels returned to prison, Gandandel went to his brother-in-law Brocadan with great anguish in his heart because things had gone completely the opposite from how he had first thought, and they might well receive the reward that evil deserved.

And now, in this case, things will happen just as the Evangel says: no hidden thing will go unknown.

Gandandel went with Brocadan to a private part of his house to discuss the arrival of the knights from Firm Island and how to try to make the King order the deaths of Madasima and her damsels before they arrived. Brocadan blamed Gandandel for the evil he did to Amadis by telling baseless falsehoods about him to the King and for all the other things that had happened in that evil business. He expressed great concern and sorrow over the bad counsel they had given and feared that the wrath of God and the King would soon arise, causing the loss of his honors and of his sons, for whose cause this had all begun.

As they spoke, it happened that Brocadan’s niece, who was in love with a young knight named Sarquiles, nephew of Angriote de Estravaus, had hidden him in a side room next to the chamber where those two, alone and secretly, were having their discussion. He heard everything they said and learned their evil secrets, and was very astonished.

When they left and night came, he departed, put on all the armor he had left in a house outside the town, mounted his horse in the morning and rode back as if he had come from the other way. He went to the King’s palace and spoke to him, saying:

“My lord, I am native to your lands and was raised in your court, and I want to protect you from all evil and trickery so that ye do not err in your affairs by following someone else’s will. Not yet three days ago I was where I heard some men who wished to give you bad advice that would go against your honor and good name. I tell you not to trust anything Gandandel and Brocadan may say to you about Madasima and her damsels, since there are such people in your court who would counsel you with less dishonesty. Ye and everyone else will know why I am moved to say this within twelve days. If ye remember what I say when they speak, ye can immediately understand that I know something about them. And my lord, may God be with you, for I am going to see my uncle Angriote.”

“May God be with you,” the King said, and he thought long about what he had been told.
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Chapter 63 [part 3 of 3]

2013-05-07T08:20:00.000+02:00

[How Amadis and Sir Galvanes and the other knights learned that Madasima had been sentenced to death.]

[The door in the prison at Segovia Castle. Photo by Sue Burke.]

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Amadis and his companions who left King Lisuarte’s court, as ye have heard, arrived at Firm Island, where they were received with great pleasure and happiness by everyone who lived there, whose sorrow at having lost their new lord was turned into twice as much pleasure for their spirits at having him return.

The knights saw how strong the castle was and that the only entrance to the island was through it, and saw that the island was large, and the land was as fertile and delightful as they had heard, populated by so many good people. Having seen this, they said the island was suitable for waging war from it against the whole world. They were immediately lodged in the biggest town which lay at the foot of the castle.

Know ye that this island was nine leagues long and seven wide, and it was filled with towns and other fine dwellings of the knights of that land. In the most enjoyable places, Apolidon had made four dwellings for himself, the most rare and delightful that man could ever see. The first was the one with the serpent and the lions; the second with the deer and the dogs. The third, which was called the spinning palace, was a house that three times per day and three times per night turned around so sharply that those inside it thought they were sinking. The fourth was called the bull, because each day a very brave bull would come out of an old tunnel and charge at people as if it wished to kill them. Everyone would flee from it, and its mighty horns would break down the iron door of a tower. It would enter, but soon it would come out tame, ridden by a monkey so old and wrinkled that its skin hung off it everywhere. The monkey would strike the bull with a whip and make it enter the tunnel from which it had emerged.

All the knights had much pleasure and delight to see these enchantments and the many others that Apolidon had made out of his devotion to giving pleasure to his beloved Grimanesa so she would always have something with which to pass the time. And all the knights were very firm in their love for Amadis and to obey whatever his will was to do.

At this time, as ye hear, the hermit Andalod arrived, the one who had lived at Poor Rock when Amadis was there. He came to bring order to the monastery at Firm Island that ye have heard about. And when he saw Amadis thus, he gave many thanks to God for having given such a good man life, and gazed at him and embraced him as if he had never seen him before. Amadis kissed his hands and thanked him humbly for the health and life that through God and him he had recovered.

Then a monastery was founded at the foot of a peak on Firm Island at the hermitage of the Virgin Mary where Amadis, desperate for life, with great pain in his heart over the letter that his lady Oriana had sent him, had prayed and was lost to the world as ye have heard earlier. Andalod had brought a priest named Sisian and thirty friars for the monastery. Amadis ordered them to receive enough income to support their lives comfortably, and Andalod returned to Poor Rock as before.

Then Balais of Carsante arrived, whom Amadis had rescued from Arcalaus’s prison, and who had gone to bid farewell to King Lisuarte when he learned that Amadis had left him discontented. Olivas also came, who had helped Agrajes and Sir Galvanes in his battle with the Duke of Bristol. They asked Balais for news of the court of King Lisuarte, and he said:

“There is exceedingly much to tell.”

Then he told them:

“Know, my lords, that King Lisuarte has sent orders to all his men to join him immediately. Count Latine and the knights he had sent to take Mongaza Island had sent him word that the old giant had relinquished all the castles that were in the power of himself or his sons, but Gromadaza did not wish to give up Boiling Lake, the strongest castle in all the island, as well as three other very strong castles.

“And know that Gromadaza said that never in all the days of her life will she abandon the places where she had lived with her husband Famongomadan and son Barsagante. She would die before she delivers them, and the King will always receive trouble from her. And as for her daughter Madasima and her damsels, the King may do what he wishes to them, for she cares little for them or their lives, and their loss would give her a only a little sadness. And so I say she may be taken as an example of how rigorous and strong is the heart of an angry woman, willing to abandon all that she was engendered for and that her nature cannot achieve, and necessarily her slight wisdom cannot help her. And if a woman is not like this, it is due to the great grace of God in Whom all power is and Who can guide events without any difficulty as He pleases, forcing all things of nature to be contrary.”

After Balais had delivered this news, they asked him what the King had said and planned to do, and he told them:

“In front of all his men, as I have told you, he swore that if Gromadaza’s castles were not his within a month, he would have Madasima and her damsels beheaded, and then he would march to Boiling Lake and would attack until he had taken them, and if he had the old giantess in his power, he would throw her to his brave lions.”

When they heard this news, they were very angry. They had Balais and the other knights given lodging, and they spoke a lot about it. But Sir Galvanes, who had not forgotten the promise he had made to Madasima, and whose heart was tormented by great anguish and pain, told them:

“My good lords, ye all know well that the principal cause for which Amadis and ourselves left the King was over Madasima and me. I beg you all to help me fulfill the promise I made, and to protect her with just reason, and if reason is not enough, to protect her with arms, which with God’s help and yours I believe I could well do.”

Sir Florestan stood up and said:

“My lord Sir Galvanes, there are others here who are wiser and can give better counsel than I, and they can help you protect Madasima if she can be defended with reason, which would be best. But if it is necessary to fight, I shall take on the battle in the name of God to defend her and to support your promise.”

“My good friend,” Sir Galvanes said, “I thank you for that as much as I can, because ye have shown yourself to be my loyal friend. But if she must be freed by arms, it ought to fall on me to do it, since I made that promise to her, and I shall do it.”

“My good lords,” Brian of Monjaste said, “ye both speak well, but we all have our part in this deed. What happened with Amadis with the King showed us how little we were regarded, and what happened between him and you, my lord Sir Galvanes, could also have befallen to any one of us who were there. But if we do not become involved in this, we should all be diminished, although the principal cause was Amadis’s. So, since we all left together and are together now, what befalls to one of us befalls us all, and so there is no private matter. And leaving that aside, Madasima is a damsel, one of the most lovely in the world, and she is in danger of losing her life, as are her damsels. Since one of the principles of the order of knighthood is to rescue such women, I tell you that I shall strive that they be defended with reason, and if that fails, with arms as long as my strength shall last.”

Sir Cuadragante said:

“Truly, Sir Brian, ye speak like a man of high estate, and I believe ye shall do the very best ye can, yet this business affects us all, and so we must all take it as our own so they hold us as worthy men. Now and without delay, because waiting often adds little to intentions, we must put this effort in effect, for there will not be a better time. And remember, my lords, these damsels are now miserable and forsaken, but they were not put in prison by their own volution but due to the obedience that Madasima owed to her mother. So, although the King may hold something against them in this world, God holds nothing against them, and so they have been condemned by force rather than their will.”

Amadis said:

“I am very pleased, my lords, to hear what ye say, because we should expect only a good outcome from things considered out of love and concord. And if ye maintain your mighty and brave hearts in the future the way they are now, no only do I think these damsels will find great aid, but this will lead to other great deeds, for none in the world can equal you. And if ye are all agreed to help, if ye please, I shall say what it seems to me should be done.”

They all asked him to say it. So he told them:

“There are twelve damsels. I think it good that they be rescued by twelve of you knights either by reason or by arms, one for each of them, together if possible or separately as necessity may demand. I am certain that all of ye here, with your great courage, would take this challenge for enjoyment and pleasure, but that cannot be, for there can only be twelve. I wish to name them, and the others and I shall remain here for things of greater danger that may occur to us.”

Then he said:

“Ye, my lord Sir Galvanes, are the first, for the business is principally yours; and your cousin Agrajes; my brother Sir Florestan; my cousins Palomir and Dragonis; Sir Brian of Monjaste; Nicoran of the White Tower; Orlandin, son of the Count of Urlanda; Gavarte of Valtemoroso; Imosil, brother of the Duke of Burgundy; Madansil of the Silver Bridge; and Ladaderin of Fajarque. I hold these twelve to be good because among them are sons of kings and queens and duke and counts of such high lineage that none of them can fail there because they have no par.”

They were all very pleased by what Amadis had said, and those who where named immediately went to their lodging to arrange everything necessary for their departure, which would be early in the morning the next day. That night they all stayed in Agrajes’s lodging, and at midnight they were armed. They mounted their horses and got on the road to Tasilana, the town where King Lisuarte was.
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Chapter 63 [part 2 of 3]

2013-04-23T10:17:00.000+02:00

[How Queen Briolanja arrived at Firm Island, and the wonders she saw there, and how she tested the forbidden chamber.]

[Alexander the Great fighting a dragon from Le Livre et la vraye hystoire du bon roy Alixandre, on display at Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination at the British Library.]
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At this time one of Queen Briolanja’s damsels arrived with orders to tell Oriana what had happened at Firm Island, which pleased everyone because the Queen was well loved by all. She said to Oriana:

“My lady, I have come to you on behalf of Briolanja to tell you about the wonders she found at Firm Island, for I saw it all and ye can know it from me.”

“May God give her a long life,” Oriana said, “and good fortune to you for the effort ye have undertaken.”

Then everyone came to listen to her story, and the damsel said:

“My lady, know that after Briolanja left here, she arrived with all her company at the Island, where she spent five days. She was immediately asked if she wished to try the test of the chamber or the arch of love, and she said that she wished to leave those two tests for the end. Instead they took her to some beautiful houses a league from the castle, which were abundantly provisioned and which had been some of the famous principal residences of Apolidon.

“When it came time to eat, they brought us to a beautiful great hall, marvelously decorated, and at one end of it was a very deep, large, dark cave, so frightening to look into that none of us dared to go near. At the other end of the grand hall was a splendid tower, and from the windows one could see everything that happened in the hall. They had all us women go up into it, where we found tables and estrados placed next to the windows. There the Queen and ourselves were very well served with many kinds of delicacies by very attentive ladies and damsels.

“Below in the hall, as ye have heard, the knights and our other people ate, and they were served by knights of that land, and after they had put the second course in front of them, they heard loud hissing from the cave and hot smoke came out. Soon a great serpent emerged and stood in the middle of the hall, brave and terrifying, and no one dared look at it. Smoke came from its nostrils and it whipped its tail so hard that the entire hall shook.

“And then behind it two enormous lions came out of the cavern, and they all began to fight so bravely and so fiercely that no man’s heart was not terrified. The knights and other people abandoned their tables and left the hall as fast as they could. Although the windows from which we watched with Briolanja were very high, even still we could not help but be very afraid and terrified.

“The battle lasted a half-hour, and at its end the lions were so tired that they lay on the ground as if they were dead, and the serpent so tired and weary it hardly breathe. But after it had rested a while, it took one of the lions in its mouth and put it in the cave, returned for the other one, threw it inside, and then leapt in after them.

“They did not reappear for the rest of the day, and the men of the island laughed heartily at our terror. When we were sure they would not come back that day, we returned to the tables and finished our meal.

“And so we passed the day, and that night in a good lodging, and the next day they took us to an even more wonderful site, where we passed the day in great pleasure and were provided with all the things we needed. When it was time to sleep, they took us to a fine and beautiful chamber that was amazing to behold, where there was a bed of rich, costly fabric for Briolanja and other beds exceedingly fine for us.

“We were tired and sleepy, but after we had lain down and midnight had passed, the doors opened so loudly that we were all awakened and frightened. We saw a stag enter with lit candles on its horns, and the entire chamber was illuminated as if it were day. Half of it was white as snow, and the neck and head as black as tar, and one horn seemed gilt and the other vermillion.

“Behind it came four dogs of similar appearance, and all of them were harassing it, so it was sorely afflicted. And behind it came a gold and ivory horn that was playing itself and floating in the air as if someone were holding it in their hand. It sounded a hunting call that drove on the dogs.

“They would not let the stag rest, and it ran from one side of the chamber to the other, jumping over our beds, which made them shake, and at times it tripped on the beds and fell. We got up in our nightshirts and with our hair loose, fleeing from the stag, and some of us hid under our beds. But the dogs did not stop pursuing it as hard as they could, and when the stag saw that it had no place to hide in the chamber, it jumped out of the window as fast as it could and the dogs leapt out after it, and so we were very relieved.

“We picked up the bedding, which had been made disorderly, and covered ourselves, and we gave Briolanja, who was very worried, a robe to wear. When we ceased to be afraid, we laughed a lot at the disarray in which we found ourselves. As we were remaking the beds, a lady and two damsels came through the door, with a little girl carrying candles ahead of them, and the lady said to Briolanja:

“ ‘My lady, what happened to you that ye are awake?’

“She told her:

“ ‘My friend, such a commotion that it would be hard to recount.’

The lady laughed a lot, and said:

“ ‘Well, my lady, lay down and sleep, for tonight nothing more will happen for you to fear.’

“With that assurance we straightened our beds and slept the rest of the night. The next day, early in the morning, we left and went to a forest where there were many tall pine trees and beautiful gardens, and we rested in tents alongside a river. There we found a round house of twelve marble pillars and a strangely constructed roof. Between the pillars were glass panels locked in place and made in such a subtle way that everyone outside could see what was inside. It had two doors worked with sheets of gold and silver that were amazingly valuable.

“On top of each post inside the house was a copper statue made to resemble a giant that held a powerful bow whose arrows had red-hot iron tips as bright as if they had just come out of a fire. They said that nothing can enter there without being immediately turned into ashes by the fire on those arrows, because the statues instantly shoot their bows and never miss their target.

“As we watched with Briolanja, they put two fallow deer and a buck inside, and immediately arrows were shot into them, then the arrows flew back to the archers and the animals were reduced to ashes. On the doors of the palace, an inscription said:

“ ‘Let no man or woman dare to enter this house if they do not love each other as much and as loyally as Grimanesa and Apolidon, who made this enchantment, and they must enter together the first time, for if each one were to do it alone, they would suffer the most cruel death ever seen. This enchantment will last until a man and woman come who due to their great loyalty in love and the great skill at arms of the knight, shall enter in the beautiful enchanted chamber and lie together as one. And when they are wed, then all the enchantments of Firm Island shall be undone.’

“We stayed there that day, and Briolanja sent for Isanjo and Enil and told them that we no longer wished to see anything more besides the arch of love and the forbidden chamber. She asked Isanjo about the serpent and lions, and the stag and dogs.

“ ‘My lady,’ he said, ‘we know only that the serpent and lions come out each day at the time that ye saw them and fight that way, and of the buck and dogs I tell you they come to that chamber every night at the hour in which ye saw them, and they turn to leave by the window, with the dogs behind the buck, and they all enter a lake nearby that we think leads to the sea. I do not know what more to tell you, my lady, except that it would take you more than a year to see all the great marvels that are on this island.’

“The next morning, we mounted our palfreys and returned to the castle. Immediately Briolanja went to the arch of the loyal lovers and entered through its forbidden pillars as she who had never erred in her love for even a moment. The statue played a very sweet song with its trumpet, so sweet that it made us faint. And when Briolanja entered inside, where the images of Apolidon and Grimanesa were, the song stopped with sweet final notes that were wonderful to hear. There she saw the statues as beautiful and new as if they were alive, so that although she was alone, she felt as if they were with her. Immediately she saw freshly carved letters in the jasper that said:

“ ‘This is the name of Briolanja, daughter of Tagadan, King of Sobradisa. This is the third damsel who has entered here.’

“Immediately she thought to leave, for she was very afraid to be alone, since no one in her company could enter. She left and went to her lodging. On the fifth day she went to test the forbidden chamber, and she was dressed so richly it was astonishing. She wore nothing on her hair besides a beautiful golden headband set with precious gems, and all those who saw her said that if she did not enter the chamber, then no one in the world could, and that when she did, all the enchantments would end.

“She commended herself to God and entered the forbidden site and passed the copper pillar and reached the marble one, and read the words that were written on it. When she was three steps away from the door of the chamber, three hands grabbed her by her beautiful, precious hair and tossed her away without pity. And like the rest, they threw her outside of the protected site, and she was left so battered that we could not revive her.”

Oriana, whose heart had felt faint and sad as she listened, became very happy. She looked at Mabilia and the Damsel of Denmark, and they at her, and they were all pleased.

The damsel said:

“We spent the rest of the day there, and the next day Briolanja left for her kingdom.”

After the news had been told, the damsel left to go to her lady, and she carried messages from Queen Brisena and Oriana and the other ladies and damsels for her.
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Summary, Chapters 58 to 62

2013-04-04T10:15:00.001+02:00

“When the king has a sound mind, receives good counsel, and is wise without malice, he does well for his people — and the contrary is also true.” Medieval saying collected by Sir Juan Manuel in El Conde Lucanor.

Duratón River Gorges Natural Park near Sepúlveda, Spain. It includes the 12th century hermitage and monastery of St. Fructus. Photo by Txo.

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Chapter 58

King Lisuarte had been challenged months earlier to battle by King Cildadan of Ireland, and the battle is finally about to begin. Amadis, still known as Beltenebros, goes to the site of the battle with his squire, Enil, and volunteers to join the hundred knights who will fight alongside King Lisuarte. Enil begs Beltenebros to knight him so he can join the King’s company.

Among King Cildadan’s men are many treacherous giants, including Madanfabul, who has been ordered to wait on a small hill with ten other knights and attack after the battle is underway to try to kill or capture Lisuarte.

The battle is cruel, and after several hours, more than half the knights on both sides have died. At that point, Madanfabul attacks and drags King Lisuarte from his horse, holding him under his arm, to carry him off as a prisoner. Beltenebros comes to his rescue and cuts off the giant’s arm — and he shouts: “Gaul, Gaul, for I am Amadis!”

This rallies Lisuarte’s men and they win, led by Amadis. But Galaor has been badly injured. Amadis believes he will die, but twelve maidens arrive and ask to take Galaor away and give him medical care. They also ask King Lisuarte for King Cildadan, who is badly hurt. They take the two men to a ship and sail away.

The King embraces Amadis. The surviving knights rest, eat, and get their injuries treated. The dead knights are buried honorably in a chapel erected for them.

Meanwhile, Queen Briolanja comes to Miraflores Castle to meet Oriana, and they instantly become best friends forever.

Chapter 59

Sir Galaor wakes up jailed in a beautiful room in a garden. A damsel comes to treat him, and soon he realizes that the damsel is Urganda the Unrecognized, a powerful sorceress who has helped him in the past. His squire and the dwarf Ardian are brought to serve him. King Cildadan awakes locked inside a tower. He is treated by people who do not talk to him, and he believes he is a prisoner until Urganda tells him otherwise. Two beautiful damsels care for the injured men; the damsels become pregnant, and the sons will become valiant knights, and Galaor and Cildadan will be released, but all that shall be recounted “farther on.”

Amadis meets with Queen Briolanja and Oriana, and after some joking, he urges Briolanja to test the forbidden room at Firm Island to see if she is the most beautiful woman in the world. This hurts Oriana’s feelings until he explains to her that he knows Briolanja will fail but Oriana, when she tries it, will win, but if Oriana did it first, everyone would wonder if Briolanja could have won, so he had urged Briolanja to try it for Oriana’s greater glory.

Sir Cuadragante and Amadis become fast friends, and the court begins to scheme to free King Arban of North Wales and Angriote de Estravaus, who are being held prisoner and tortured at the Island of Mongaza.

Chapter 60

A strange ship with a huge fire in its mast docks and turns out to carry Urganda the Unrecognized; the fire was sorcery. She assures Amadis that his brother Galaor is safe. The King and Queen welcome her, she performs feats of magic. She delivers disturbing prophesies to Oriana and Amadis and about the Kingdom in general before she departs.

Chapter 61

An exceptionally tall damsel arrives with a message for the King. Amadis had killed the husband and son of a giantess named Gromadaza, who is holding Arban and Angriote de Estravaus prisoner. She has learned that the King wants to free them. She will send the valiant knight Ardan Canileo to fight Amadis. If Amadis wins, Gromadaza will deliver the prisoners and her lands, but if Ardan wins, he will kill Amadis and the lands and prisoners will remain in her hands. And the lady Madasima, daughter of Gromadaza, will come to serve as a hostage to guarantee the proposal.

Amadis accepts the battle and invites the damsel to dine at his lodging to honor her. She accepts, but impolitely. While she is there, she steals the magic sword Amadis had won in a test of his love. She delivers it to Ardan Canileo, who is a mighty but very ugly knight. Madasima has agreed to marry him because her mother is forcing her, but she finds him repugnant.

Amadis greets Ardan and Madasima as they arrive with the customary exchange of insults between the two knights, but as he prepares that night for the battle, he discovers that his sword is missing. He arranges to have it replaced by his father’s sword, which had been left with him when he was abandoned as a baby.

The battle begins, and it is fierce. Oriana watches from a window, and her presence, especially the sight of her hair – women’s hair was sexy in medieval times – gives Amadis great courage. Madasima hopes Amadis will win so she does not have to marry Ardan. But the battle goes badly for Amadis even before his sword breaks. Inspired by Oriana, he makes a bold move that disarms Ardan, and he kills him and wins the fight.

Chapter 62

Sir Bruneo of Bonamar had challenged the brother of the exceptionally tall damsel to a battle. The battle is held, Bruneo wins, and she commits suicide.

Although King Lisuarte has enjoyed great good fortune for many years, he has two scheming old counselors in his court, and they are jealous of Amadis. They begin to tell the King that Amadis is planning to take the Kingdom from him. Foolishly, the King believes them.

Sir Galvanes falls in love with Madasima. When Amadis has recovered from the injuries suffered in his battle with Ardan Canileo, he and Agrajes and Galvanes meet with the King. Amadis proposes giving Madasima’s land to Galvanes as a wedding gift, thus rewarding his outstanding service and keeping the land in the realm. The King refuses, and when the knights complain, he tells them to leave and seek someone who would appreciate them.

That night, Amadis secretly meets with Oriana, and while in bed, explains that he must leave. She is heartbroken but grants permission. The next morning, Amadis calls together many knights and tells them he is departing for Firm Island, explains why, and invites them to accompany him. Many agree to do so.
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Chapter 62 [part 4 of 4]

2013-03-26T09:41:00.000+01:00

[How Amadis sadly announced his departure.]

[From On the Art of Hunting With Birds, from a manuscript commissioned by King Manfred of Sicily in the 13th century.]

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Amadis went to his lodging with more anger and melancholy than his face showed, where he found many good knights who always stayed there with him, and he did not want anything about what had happened with the King to be spoken of until he had talked with his lady Oriana. He took Durin aside and sent him to tell his cousin Mabilia on his behalf that he needed to see Oriana that night, and she should wait for him in the old passageway under the garden, where he had entered on other occasions.

With that, he returned to the knights and ate and enjoyed himself with them as he had on previous days. And he told them:

“My lords, I would very much like all of you to join me here tomorrow because I have to speak about something very important.”

“So it shall be,” they said.

When the day had passed and the night came, after people had supped and gone to bed, Amadis took Gandalin and went to the garden. He entered the underground passage, as he had done before, and arrived in the chamber of his lady Oriana, who was waiting for him with a loyal and true love equal to his own. With many kisses and embraces they were joined without envy for anyone else who truly loves in this world, believing their own to be without equal.

As they lay in bed, Oriana asked him why he had sent word that he need to talk with her. He told her:

“Because something very strange happened to me and my cousin Agrajes and Sir Galvanes with your father.”

Then he told her everything that had happened, and how the King finally told them that the world was exceedingly large and they should seek in it someone who would recognize them better.

“My lady,” Amadis said, “since that pleases him, then we ought to do it, because otherwise all the fame and glory that I have won by keeping your delightful memory in my thoughts would be lost and my honor would be diminished so much that no knight in the world would be as lessened and debilitated as I would be. So I ask you, my lady, not to order me to do anything else, because, since I am more yours than my own, that loss would reach you, and although it would be hidden to all, it would be plain to you, my lady, and it would always put your spirit in great anguish.”

When Oriana heard this, although her heart broke, she became as strong as she could, and she said:

“My true beloved, for little reason ye ought to complain about my father, because ye have served more me than him, and by my order ye came to his court, and from me ye are and shall always be rewarded while I live. And if any blame could be laid on my father, it is only in believing that things were done in his service when they were secretly done on my orders, and these deeds oblige him not to give you such an insolent reply. Although your departure will be as grave for me as if my heart were broken into ever-smaller pieces, it pleases me to do as ye ask, considering more what is right than my will and my excessive love for you. Due to the reign that I have over you, I have in my hand more the remedy than my pleasure, although I know that by losing you, what that remains for my father will give him great loss and loneliness.”

Amadis, hearing this, kissed her hands many times, and said:

“My true lady, if until now I have received many great gifts from you, from which my sad heart was turned from death to life, this must be considered greater because of the transcendent difference that issues of honor have over delights and pleasures.”

In this and other things they spent the night talking, mixing their great pleasure with their many tears, thinking of the deep loneliness that awaited them. But as day approached, Amadis arose, accompanied by his very beloved cousin Mabilia and the Damsel of Denmark. He humbly begged them to console Oriana, and they agreed, weeping, and he left them.

When he arrived at his lodging, he spent the rest of the night and some part of the day sleeping. But when the time came, all the knights ye have heard of arose from their beds and came to him, and after they heard Mass, they gathered together on horseback in a field.

Amadis spoke to them thus:

“As ye all know, my good lords and honorable knights, after I left the Kingdom of Gaul and came to Great Britain, and my brothers and friends followed me, things happened that placed King Lisuarte in greater or lesser honor, and so there is no reason to remind you of them. I only believe that it must rightly be said that ye and I should expect to have been justly rewarded, but due to inconstant Fortune who in her usual way changes and reverses events, or due to bad counsel, or perhaps due to the advanced age that has come over the King, we have encountered a situation much to the contrary of our expectations.

“Agrajes and Sir Galvanes and I had asked the King to give Madasima her land so that when she and Sir Galvanes were married, it would remain in his reign and vassalage. But not considering the great worth and high lineage of this knight, and the other services he had received from him, the King not only did not wish to grant us that, but we were denied by him with an answer so insolent and false from a mouth previously so truthful and with such discreet wisdom that it would be difficult for you to believe me.

“But it cannot be hidden because of how it ended, and so, my lords, know ye that at the end of our conversation, when we said how poorly we were recognized for our services, he told us that the world is large and we should travel through it and look for someone who would recognize us better. And so, because we have been obedient while in agreement and friendship, we should be obedient in discord and enmity, and we should comply with what he thought we should do. It seems to me to be right that ye know, because it involves not only ourselves in particular but everyone in general.”

When those knights heard what Amadis said, many were amazed, and they said to each other that their small services would be would receive a very poor reward if the great ones by Amadis and his brother had been forgotten. Immediately their hearts were moved to serve the King no more and to do him disservice when they could.

Angriote de Estravaus, who wanted to share in whatever good or ill befell Amadis, said:

“My lords, I have known the King for a long time, and I have always seen him as very calm in all his business. He has never become angry except with great cause and just reason, so I cannot believe that what has happened to Amadis and these knights was an act of his own nature or volition. Instead I truly think that deceitful people have overcome all his wisdom and good judgement. For that reason, I cannot blame the goodness and great virtue of the King, and what I truly think has happened is I have seen him speak in recent days with Gandandel and Brocadan more than usual. They are false and dishonest and have forgotten God and the world and think to seek gain to themselves and their sons for what their evil works do not deserve. I think this has caused the change in the King.

“And so that ye may see how the justice of God is executed, I wish to arm myself at once and tell them that they are vile and envious and have done great treason and dishonesty to the King and Amadis, and I will fight both of them. And if their age excuses them, they should send their sons to fight me alone and bear the evil deeds of their fathers.”

He was about to leave, but Amadis stopped him and said:

“My good friend Angriote, may it not please God that your good and loyal body be placed in danger for what is not known to be true for certain.”

He replied:

“I am certain that it is thus, because I have known them for a long time. And if the will of the King were to say the truth, I know that he would say that I have told the truth.”

Amadis said:

“If ye love me, do not try to solve this, so that the King does not receive an affront. And if they are as ye say, presenting themselves as my friends when they have been my enemies, they will get what those lies deserve. When it is discovered and known, ye may more justly and with greater cause proceed against them. And know that then I shall not let ye avoid it.”

Angriote said:

“Although it is against my will, I shall let it go this time, since it pleases you, but it shall remain for the future.”

Then Amadis, turning to the knights, told them:

“My lords, I wish to bid farewell to the King and Queen if they will see me. Then I will go to Firm Island. Those of us who wish to live there together shall receive honor in addition to pleasures because that land is very agreeable, abounding in all good things and good hunting and beautiful women, who are the reason, wherever they may be, that knights are praised and proud. I have many precious jewels there of great worth so that our needs may be fulfilled.

“Many people will come there who know us, as well as strangers, both men and women, who will need our help. There we shall return whenever we please to seek shelter and rest from our labors. And along with Firm Island, during the life of my father, King Perion, and afterward, the Kingdom of Gaul will also be there for us in Little Brittany, for I have letters giving it to me now and after his days. Ye can count on all this without a doubt. But I also remind you that the Kingdom of Scotland is there for my cousin Agrajes, and that the Kingdom of Queen Briolanja neither for good nor ill will be closed to us.”

“My lord Amadis, you may say this with great truth,” said a knight named Tantiles, majordomo and governor of the Kingdom of Sobradisa. “The beautiful Queen whose kingdom ye returned to her shall always be at your command.”

Sir Cuadragante said:

“Now, my lord, bid farewell to the King, as shall those who love you and your company.”

“So it shall be,” Amadis said, “and I hold in esteem those who at this time wish to honor me, but I say that those who stay with the King to their advantage do me no dishonor. Truly, I believe that an equally good lord could not be found anywhere at this time.”

The King rode past with Gandandel at his side and many other knights. He had gone hunting with falcons, and although he rode close by, he did not speak to them nor look at them, and returned to his palace.
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Chapter 62 [part 3 of 4]

2013-03-12T09:06:00.000+01:00

[How Amadis angrily decided to leave King Lisuarte’s company.]

[Detail of a Church in Urnieta, Spain. Photo by Sue Burke.]

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Several days later, Amadis, Angriote de Estravaus, and Sir Bruneo of Bonamar could arise from their beds because their injuries had greatly improved. One morning, in fine clothing, they mounted their horses, and after hearing Mass, they went to the King’s palace, where they were very well received by everyone except the King, who did not look at them or welcome them as he used to, which many people wondered about.

Yet Amadis was not concerned because he did not think that it could have been due to ill will. But the lying Gandandel, who was there, laughed and embraced Amadis and said:

“At times men say the truth and no one wants to believe it.”

Amadis did not reply. Gandandel left him, seeing that Angriote and Sir Bruneo were very annoyed because they had been received so badly. He went to the King and said quietly, so that no one could hear:

“Do ye not see, my lord, the attitude of those knights toward you?”

The King was quiet and did not wish to respond in any way. Amadis, with good will and not suspecting any scheme so falsely woven, came to the King with great humility, bringing Galvanes and Agrajes with him, and said:

“My lord, we wish to speak with you, if you please, in the presence of anyone ye may wish.”

The King said that Gandandel and Brocadan should be there. This pleased Amadis very much because in his heart he considered them good friends. Then they all went to a garden, where the King sat down beneath some trees and they sat near him.

Amadis said:

“My lord, it has not been my fate to abide with you as well as my heart wishes, and although I do not deserve it from you, I have confidence in your virtue and nobility, so I wish to dare to ask a boon from you that will serve you well, and with it ye would do what is wise and right.”

“Certainly,” said Gandandel, “if it is thus, ye ask for a beautiful boon, and it is good for the King to know what it is.”

“My lord,” Amadis said, “what I and Agrajes wish to ask with Sir Galvanes, who has served you well, is that ye give the island of Mongaza, and yet keep it in your reign and vassalage, to Madasima and Sir Galvanes at their wedding. In this, my lord, ye give a great gift to Sir Galvanes, who is of high nobility and has no land of his own, and who has served you well, and ye shall show mercy to Madasima, who by us is disinherited.”

When Brocadan and Gandandel heard this, they looked at the King with expressions on their face to not grant it. But the King spent some time in silence, thinking of the great worth of Galvanes and how he had served him, and how Amadis had won that land with so much danger to his life, and he recognized that Amadis had asked for a reasonable, just, and honest thing.

But as his will was injured, he did not make use of virtue, as he was obligated, and he answered as if it were not within his ability to do it:

“It is not advisable to ask for what cannot be done. I say this to you because ye ask for something that I gave to the Queen for her daughter Leonoreta fully five days ago.”

He meant this answer more as an excuse than as the truth. Gandandel and Brocadan were very pleased with it, and made expressions on their faces to show he had responded well. But Agrajes, who had a stormy heart, when he heard such an unsavory response, had little moderation with which to hide it. He could not be quiet and with great ire said:

“Ye have given us well to understand, my lord, that we are worth little, and our services, given these thanks, have hardly done us any good. In fact I think we could have spent our lives otherwise.”

“Nephew,” Sir Galvanes said, “services are worth very little when they are done for those who do not know how to appreciate them, so men ought to look for places where they can be well employed.”

“My lords,” Amadis said, “do not complain if the King has not done what we ask, for he has already given it. But I must ask that he give you Madasima and keep the land, and I shall give you Firm Island, where ye may be with her until the King has something else to give you.”

The King said:

“I shall keep Madasima in my prison in exchange for her land, and if it is not given, I shall order her head cut off.”

Amadis said:

“Surely, my lord, ye ought to respond with more moderation, if ye please, and do no injury if ye wish to show greater appreciation.”

“If I do not appreciate you,” the King said, “the world is exceedingly large. Travel through it and seek someone who might appreciate you.”

Oh, what infamous words! And even yesterday, we could say, the knight Amadis was so loved and so appreciated by King Lisuarte, who had believed that with Amadis and his brothers and family he could quickly and easily become lord of the world. The King had watched with tears in his eyes the devotion with which Amadis placed his life in danger when he battled Ardan Canileo, as Lisuarte had arranged. He knew at the time that Amadis had lost his exceptional sword, and contrary to the pledge he had made in front of his court to give his own sword to no knight, he had begged and urged Amadis to take it. He thought about the great services he had received from him and how they had saved his life and kingdom.

And now his deep love and his outstanding judgement and discretion were not enough to protect him from a few inconstant words said by a man of ill fate and ill works. He did not see the evidence that would have made him doubt those words and prevent him from becoming upset and darkening his memory to all that which had been done in the past. To me it seems a great and noteworthy thing, for neither the weapons of an enemy nor cold poisons can place kings and great lords in such danger and surround them with such harm as mere ears. Everything good and evil that enters through them moves the heart and guides the will to either greater justice or dishonesty.

And so, great lords, to whom such power is given to satisfy your appetites and wills, protect yourself from evil men who care little for themselves or their souls. Ye must rightly believe that they care much less for yours.

Returning to the issue at hand, when Amadis heard that dishonest and unsavory reply from the King, he told him:

“Truly, my lord, to my thinking up until now I did not think that another king or great lord in the world could come close to you in wisdom, but now, to my sorrow, ye have shown yourself very distant and contrary. It behooves us to look for new lives with this new advice and edict.”

“Do as ye will,” the King said, “and so shall I.”

Then he arose with great anger and went to see the Queen, with Brocadan and Gandandel, who praised him highly for having dispatched and freed himself from those who could have done him great harm. Lisuarte told the Queen what he had said to Amadis and how that had made him happy.

But she said that she received his happiness with sadness because, ever since Amadis and his brother and family members had joined his court, the King’s affairs had always advanced and improved, and none of them had done anything contrary to him. If they had left only at his decision, then his wisdom must have decreased, and if it had been at the counsel of others, they must have acted out of envy of them and their good works. And not only had the present been harmed but also the future, for others would see how the grandeur of these knights was discarded and unrecognized although their great services deserved much honor and many gifts. Soon other knights would have little hope for their own reward, although it would be so much less, and they would rightly decide to leave and look for another lord who would give them better recognition.

But the King told her:

“Speak no more of that, for I know what I am doing. And say what I told you, that ye asked for that land for Leonoreta and I gave it to you.”

“I shall say so, as ye order,” the Queen said, “and may God wish it to be for the best.”
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NO8DO

2013-03-07T10:10:00.000+01:00

Seville’s medieval emblem.

The coat of arms of Seville includes a king on a throne flanked by two archbishops over the emblem NO8DO.

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Three stories explain the origin of the emblem of the city of Seville, Spain, and all three go back to the Middle Ages.

Two of them interpret the emblem as “no-madeja-do.” In Spanish, a madeja is a skein of yarn, and no me ha dejado means “You did not desert me.”

In one story, when King Ferdinand III of Castille conquered the city from the Moors in 1248, he said “No me ha dejado” in reference to the aid of the Virgin Mary.

The other story, the most popular one, is about his son, King Alfonso X, who got into a civil war with his son Sancho over succession in 1282. Seville was one of the few cities that remained loyal to Alfonso, and in gratitude he granted the emblem to the city’s coat of arms as a tribute to its loyalty.

Another explanation of the emblem takes note the use of similar symbols to NO8DO by other medieval cities and locations, including London. The emblem NODO represents Nomen Domine, “In the name of God.” The 8 symbol represents a nodo or knot and repeats the abbreviation.

Like so many details of Spanish history, the centuries have erased the exact origin of the emblem, but without a doubt its goes back to the Middle Ages. These days you can find it in Seville on everything from manhole covers and buses to the city’s flag.
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(This is the 200th post on the Amadis of Gaul blog. Thank you for your support!)

Chapter 62 [part 2 of 4]

2013-02-26T08:55:00.000+01:00

[How King Lisuarte fell into grave error, and why it happened.]

[King Fernando II of Castile, 1217–1252. He was canonized as a saint in 1671. Miniature from the 13th century Index of Royal Privileges kept at Santiago de Compostela.]

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Now know ye that in the court of King Lisuarte there were two elderly knights who had served his brother King Falangris for many years, so due to their long service and the authority of their great age more than to their virtue or their abilities, they were made counselors to King Lisuarte. One of them was named Brocadan and the other Gandandel. And Gandandel had two sons who had been esteemed knights before Amadis and his brothers and relatives came to the court, and their surpassing skill and strength had left those two famed knights forgotten. This put such great anguish and brooding into the heart of their father, Gandandel, that without fear of God nor considering the faith he owed to his lord the King, he thought he could use his private honor and advantage to damage and darken the general good which he was obligated to uphold, so he fabricated a great treachery in his evil heart, which he brought about in this way:

Speaking to the King one day, he said:

“My lord, ye and I must speak in private. I have refrained from talking with you for many days, hoping that the issue would be solved some other way, and I realize I have erred seriously in doing so, and since things get worse every day, it is very necessary for you to receive counsel.”

When the King heard this, he wanted to know what it was about, and he took Gandandel to his chamber, where no one else was, and told him:

“Now say what ye please.”

And Gandandel told him:

“My lord, I have always had the wisdom to protect my soul and honor, and to do nothing wrong although I could, thanks be to God. So I am free and without passion and can use my judgement in your service to advise you without impediment, and ye, my lord, may do what ye see fit. And because I would err before God and you if I were not to speak of it, I must say this:

“Ye already know, my lord, how for a long time in the past until now there has always been great discord between the kingdoms of Gaul and Great Britain, and how that kingdom ought to be subject to this one, recognizing its supremacy as all the other neighboring regions do. This is an illness that shall not be cured until the matter has been justly concluded. Now I have seen how Amadis is not only native to Gaul but the eldest son of his lineage, and others are here in your land who have such power over and affection from your people that it seems it is within his grasp to rebel and take this land as if he were its rightful heir.

“It is true that from this knight and his brothers and relatives I have never received anything other than honor and pleasure, for which I am obliged to them with my person and sons and estate, but may it never please God for me to be obliged with what is yours, for ye are my lord and natural king. Instead I would submit my own person and possessions to yours over the least thing, for if I were to do less, in this world I would fall into evil and in the next my soul would be in Hell.

“And so, my lord, I have said what I am obliged to say and have discharged my duty. Order the situation remedied before waiting brings greater peril for, in keeping with your majesty, ye can more honorably and restfully be with your own people rather than with strangers who are contrary to you and will place your estate in great danger, although it may seem otherwise now.”

The King said, without anger:

“These knights have served me so well and done so much for my honor and advantage that I cannot think of them except as in every way good.”

“My lord,” Gandandel said, “this is the worst way ye can look at it, because if they were to do you disservice, ye would protect yourself from them as if they were enemies, but great services hide within themselves trickery, and in the end its nature cannot be denied, as I have told you.”

And with this which ye have heard, the talk was ended because the King did not reply again. But Gandandel immediately spoke with the other man, named Brocadan, who was his brother-in-law, and in keeping with his ill will, he told him everything that had happened with the King and suggested he do the same.

And so, with what one or the other said, attributing it all to the good of the kingdom, the King was moved to great resentment against those who thought of nothing except to serve him. He forgot about the great danger from which Sir Galaor had saved him when he was a prisoner of Arcalaus’s ten knights, and the danger from which Amadis, calling himself Beltenebros, had saved him from when Madanfabul, the brave giant of the Scarlet Tower, had pulled him from his saddle and was carrying him away under his arm toward the ships. In each case it could be very rightly said that he had been restored to life with all his kingdom.

Oh, kings and great lords who govern this world, how appropriate and pertinent this example is for you! Remember to place your trust in men of good conscience and good will, without trickery or malice, who will advise you not only in what is to your service but also in what is to your salvation. Stay far away from those resembling Brocadan and Gandandel and many others like them who spend their time in your courts thinking and working about how, with false praise and hidden trickery, they can make you stray from the service of the God whose ministers ye are, only so that they and their sons and daughters may achieve honors in the same way that these self-interested men have done.

Look, look for yourselves and see how those men entrusted with great reigns by the Lord must render a full and good account for what He has given them. And if ye do not, whatever glory and power and pleasure that ye may have in this world, in the other world without end ye shall have to endure the great anguish and pain with which your souls will be inflicted and tormented. And not only shall ye be left in that vast waste, but in the present years, where ye esteem honor and fame so much, ye shall be brought down like King Lisuarte was. He believed and trusted the words of those who knew how to do ill works, and he saw with his own eyes the loss and dishonor of his court without any remedy for it in all the days of his life. If Fortune had up until this point granted him some victories, it was because the farther he fell, the more anguished and pained his soul would be.

Returning to the story, I say that these words had such power over the King that the great and excessive love he had felt with great cause and good reason for Amadis and his family was not only chilled with great injustice but thrust aside in such a way that without any further thought or advice, he no longer had an interest in seeing them. He immediately ceased to visit and converse with Amadis as he lay injured in his bed, which he had often done, and, several times, he passed by his lodging without remembering to ask about his ill health or to speak to the knights who were accompanying him.

When they saw the King’s new and strange behavior, they were surprised, and they spoke of it sometimes in front of Amadis. But he still thought of himself as completely in his service and thought the King understood that, so he believed other duties and business had caused that behavior. He told the others not to suspect anything, especially his loyal and great friend Angriote de Estravaus, who was more concerned than anyone else.

The situation being as ye have heard, King Lisuarte ordered Madasima and her damsels and the old giant and his sons and the nine knights who were his hostages to be brought before him. He told them that if they did not immediately turn over the island of Mogaza as had been agreed, he would cut off their heads. When Madasima heard this, due to her great fear, tears came in abundance to her eyes, for she thought that if the lands were delivered, she would be disinherited, and if it were not done, she would suffer cruel death. She did not know how to respond, and in her great anxiety, her flesh trembled.

But Andaguel, the old giant, told the King that if he gave him permission and some men, he promised to have the island turned over or he would return to prison. The King held that as good and gave him some men, and they immediately left.

Madasima returned to prison, accompanied by many knights, among them Sir Galvanes the Landless. When he saw those tears falling down the cheeks of that beautiful face, his heart was not only moved to great pity, but suddenly, he lost the freedom he had possessed until that moment, never having been the prisoner of any of the many women he had seen. He did not know why nor how, but he was deeply subjected and captivated without any further thought or delay. Within the hour, he spoke privately to Madasima, laying bare his heart, and told her that if she were pleased to marry him, he would find a way to save her life and let her keep her land in freedom.

Madasima had already noticed the quality of this knight and his great and high lineage. She granted what he asked and knelt, wishing to kiss his hands. With that assurance, Sir Galvanes felt his heart ache cruelly as the flames rose higher and higher in it, which until that moment had been free of the combat of love for so long.

A few days later, to put into effect what he had promised, he went to Amadis’s lodging. He spoke with him and his nephew Agrajes, and he revealed the full secret of his heart, showing them that if they did not get him a remedy, his life would be placed in the extreme of death. They were amazed by his sudden change and how he seemed to have lost control over his own will, being the reverse of his former concerns and thoughts. They told him that due to his valor and the great services he had done for King Lisuarte, it would be much easier to have Madasima and all her land be delivered to him, especially since it would remain in the realm because he was the King’s vassal. Amadis said that when he could mount a horse, he would go and arrange it with the King.

Meanwhile, Gandandel, sowing enmity, often went to see Amadis and showed him great love, and each time they spoke of the King, he always said it seemed to him that the King’s love had greatly cooled, and Amadis should be careful not to have any harm befall him. Gandandel said this would be a serious sorrow for him, considering all the help and favors he and his sons had received from Amadis.

But no matter how many subtle things he said, he could never move Amadis to anger or suspicion, and because Gandandel kept insisting, Amadis told him with some ire to speak about it no more. He said that even if everyone were to say the same thing, he could not believe that a man as wise and virtuous as the King could have come to oppose him, for Amadis, whether sleeping or awake, had never thought of anything but his service.
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Chapter 62 [part 1 of 4]

2013-02-12T08:52:00.000+01:00

How the battle was fought between Sir Bruneo of Bonamar and Madaman the Envious, brother of the exceptionally tall damsel, and what happened in the uprising caused by ill will toward the knights who were Amadis’s friends, as a result of which Amadis left the court of King Lisuarte.

[The Wheel of Fortune, as depicted in On the Fate of Famous Men, by Giovanni Boccaccio, 1467 Parisian edition.]

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After the battle between Amadis and Ardan Canileo, which ye have heard about, the next day Sir Bruneo of Bonamar immediately appeared before the King, accompanied by many good knights who loved and esteemed him. He arrived to find the exceptionally tall damsel telling the King that her brother was prepared for battle, so the King should order his opponent to come forward: Although her brother could achieve little vengeance by killing Sir Bruneo compared to the value of the courageous Ardan Canileo, that was all this could be done, and with that poor recompense, they would be somewhat consoled.

Sir Bruneo, refusing to respond to those mad words, said that he wished to fight immediately, so both knights armed themselves at once and entered the field, each accompanied by those who wished him well, although they were different in each case. Sir Bruneo went with many esteemed knights, while Madaman the Envious, which was his name, had only three knights of his company to carry his arms.

After the judges had set them in their proper places to fight, they charged at each other as fast as their horses could gallop. In the first encounter, their lances were broken to pieces, Madaman was thrown from his saddle, and Bruneo carried off part of a lance in his shield, which it had pierced, causing him a small injury to his chest.

But when Bruneo turned his horse around, he saw the other knight with his sword in his hand to defend himself, who said:

“Sir Bruneo, if thou dost not wish to lose thy horse, dismount or let me mount my own.”

“Whatever ye wish,” Sir Bruneo said, “I shall do.”

Madaman, who thought he could fight better on foot than on horseback because he was large and the other knight was small, told him:

“Since thou hast left it to me, dismount and we shall fight on foot.”

Sir Bruneo pulled back and dismounted from his horse. A battle began between them so brave that soon their armor was broken in many places and their flesh was cut, from which much blood flowed, and their shields on their arms were chopped to bits, and the pieces littered the ground.

After they had been locked in battle for a while, as ye hear, a strange thing took place in which it seemed their animals understood what was happening to their masters. The horses, who were loose in the field, approached each other and began to fight, biting and kicking with such tenacity and hatred that it amazed everyone. The fight lasted until Madaman’s horse could take no more, fled from the other horse, and in great fear leaped over the chains that surrounded the field.

That was taken as a good sign by those who wanted Sir Bruneo to win. Returning their attention to the battle, they saw how Sir Bruneo hurried to attack his enemy with great and mighty blows, so that Madaman drew back and said:

“Sir Bruneo, why dost thy hurry? Is the day not long enough? Wait a bit and let us rest, for if thou wert to look at thy arms and the blood that flows from thy wounds, it would seem quite necessary to thee.”

“Madaman,” Sir Bruneo said, “If our battle were different and not with such high enmity, then thou wouldst find every courtesy and patience in me, but due to the great arrogance that thou hast shown so far, if I were give thee what thou hast asked for, it would diminish thy fame and valor. Thus I shall not do so for thine own good, since by winning thou shalt achieve greater glory, and I do not wish to cause thy weakness to be manifest. Protect thyself, for I shall not let thee rest.”

Then they fought as before, but soon Sir Bruneo, demonstrating his great strength and his burning heart, did nothing but attack Madaman with such speed that Madaman could do nothing but protect himself from the blows. When he could take no more, he backed as far as he could toward the sea, thinking that he could defend himself among the rocks. But when he saw how high and frightening the cliff was, he stopped.

Sir Bruneo, who was chasing him, came so close that Madaman could do nothing for himself. Sir Bruneo struck him with his shield and hands, pushing so hard that he fell down the tall cliff and was broken to pieces before he reached the sea.

Then Sir Bruneo knelt and thanked God for the great mercy He had given him.

When Mataleza, the giant damsel, saw this, she ran into the field as fast as she could and arrived at the cliff with great effort. She saw how the waves bore the blood and flesh of her brother back and forth. She took his sword, which had fallen there, and said:

“Here where the blood of my uncle Ardan Canileo and my brother was spilled, I wish mine to lie so that my soul and theirs shall be together wherever they may be.”

She thrust the point of the sword through her body and let herself fall back down the cliff, and so she was broken to pieces.

After this, Sir Bruneo mounted his horse to the great praise of the King and all those with him, and, accompanied by many of them, went Amadis’s lodging. There in a rich bed next to Amadis and Angriote, his wounds were treated along with theirs. They were frequently visited by knights and ladies and damsels to give them rest and pleasure.

But because Amadis’s ill health would delay her departure, Queen Briolanja got permission from him to leave for her reign. But first she wished to see the wonders of Firm Island and test the protected chamber, and she brought Enil with her to show him everything, and she promised Oriana to let her know what she found and what happened to her, as shall be told farther on.

Now as this story continues, it wishes to let ye see how little the strength of human reason matters when the Lord on High lets go of the reins and raises His hand to remove His grace, allowing man’s judgement free power to act. It shall be made manifest whether mortal men may win great states and govern them with discretion and diligence or, when they lack divine Grace, if great arrogance, greed, and a multitude of armed men is enough to maintain them.

Ye have heard how when King Lisuarte was a prince, possessing only his arms and horse, with a few servants, he rode as a knight errant looking for adventure, arriving at the Kingdom of Denmark. As Fortune would have it, Princess Brinsena fell in love with the Prince. She was the daughter of the King, and she was much esteemed and sought by many princes and great men for her great beauty and virtue, but she cast all of them aside and took Lisuarte as her husband.

This was the first good fortune that he had, and among earthly fortunes, one of the best that he could have had. But the powerful Lord loved him so much that He was not content with this blessing. Lisuarte’s brother Falangris, King of Great Britain, was without heir, and when he left this life, without any travail this disinherited Prince became King. But unlike other kings of his time who were satisfied with only their subjects and kingdoms, he had sought to win and reign over others, and so the sons of kings and great princes and dukes came to his court, among them those three brothers, Amadis, Sir Galaor, and Florestan, along with many others of great renown.

Lisuarte shone high above the emperors and kings of the world, and if his splendor was somewhat darkened by the boon he had promised to the treacherous damsel that caused him become Arcalaus’s prisoner, this could better be attributed to the strength of his heart than a lack of caution, for at that time great courage and skill at arms flourished in princes and great lords, making them shine above others more lowly, just as it can be found among the ancient stories of the Greeks and Trojans.

Then what more shall we say about the greatness of this powerful King? In his court amazing ventures were fulfilled with great glory after roaming the world for a long time and finding none who could accomplish them. Yet that is no reason to forget his victory in the painful and frightening battle he had with Cildadan, where so many strong and vile giants, so many valiant knights of giants’ blood, and other men of great rank and renown in the world were killed and destroyed by the great virtue and courage of the King and his men. And then, soon after, the brave and famous Ardan Canileo, who in all the lands he traveled never found four knights who could match him in the field of battle, was defeated and killed by just one knight in the court of this King.

Then, shall we say now that Fortune caused this King to be gracious and very human, frank, and courageous? In fact, one might think so, but because he did not know how to govern himself and for a very slight cause, as ye shall now hear, he undid and wasted most of what he had. For that reason we must believe that when someone is provided with great good fortune and his judgement and discretion are not enough for him to maintain it, we should not attribute his fate to himself to anything other than the Most High and Powerful Lord, Who is pleased to give blessings with such secrecy that it would be madness for us to try to understand.
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Queen Isabella and the invention of modern chess

2013-02-07T12:28:00.000+01:00

She was an actual field marshal, after all.

Modern standard chess pieces, featuring the queen.

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Until the late 1400s, the queen moved only one square at a time in chess. And then, suddenly, the rules changed and she became the most powerful piece on the board, revolutionizing the game.

In this essay, Eduardo Gil Bera traces that change to November 7, 1489, and Queen Isabella of Castille — chess changed as an homage to her spectacular victory at Baza:

http://www.essayandscience.com/article/9/queen-isabella-and-the-invention-of-modern-chess/
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Chapter 61 [part 5 of 5]

2013-01-29T09:53:00.002+01:00

[How, in the heat of battle, Amadis broke his sword and discovered that Ardan’s sword rightly belonged to him.]

[Detail of Mâlain Castle, Burgundy, France. Photo by Christophe.Finot.]

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When Oriana saw Amadis injured and bleeding, her heart could stand no more. She left the window in great anguish, sat on the floor, and beat her face with her hands, believing that her beloved was close to death. Mabilia’s heart was heavy to see her hurt herself, and she made Oriana return to the window, angrily telling her how at this hour and in this danger she could not forsake her beloved. Since Oriana could not bear to watch him in such dire straits, Mabilia had her turn her back so that her beloved could gain courage and spirit by seeing her beautiful hair.

At this time, one of the judges, Brandoivas, said:

“I feel very worried about Amadis, for I see that his arms and shield are failing him.”

“So it seems to me,” said Sir Grumedan, “which gives me great sorrow.”

“My lords,” Cuadragante said, “I tested Amadis when he fought with me and found him to be so valiant and with such fire that it always seemed that his strength kept doubling. Of all the knights I have seen, he is the one who knows best how to pace himself and has the most endurance. I see him now with all his strength intact, but not so with Ardan Canileo, who is growing steadily weaker. If there is one thing that hurts Amadis, it is not Canileo but his haste, for if he waited, he would make his opponent follow him and Canileo’s great weight would tire him, but Amadis’s great spirit will not let him rest.”

Oriana and Mabilia, who heard this, felt greatly comforted. But Amadis, who had seen his lady leave the window and then had not seen her again, thought that she had left mourning for him, and he went with great fury at Ardan Canileo. He held his sword tight in his hand and struck with all his strength on the top of his head. The mighty blow left Ardan stunned, and he dropped one knee to the ground. But because the blow was so great and the helmet so strong, Amadis’s sword broke into three parts, and the smallest piece remained in his hand. Then the fear of death entered him and all those who watched.

When Ardan Canileo saw this, he stepped back in the field, took his shield by its handles, waved his sword, and said to Amadis, shouting loud enough for all to hear:

“Thou seest here the very good sword that to thy harm thou hadst won. Look well at this, for by it thou shalt die.” Then he shouted, “Come out, come out to the window, my lady Madasima, and see the beautiful vengeance that I shall give you, and how I have won it by my prowess in a way that no other man who loved you could have done.”

When Madasima heard this, she was forlorn and threw herself at the feet of the Queen to ask her for mercy and to defend her from him, which she did for good reason, for Ardan had promised to kill or defeat Amadis before a man could walk half a league, and if he did not do so, she should never grant him her love. By that time more than four hours had passed, as she could see.

The Queen told her:

“I hear what ye say and shall do what is just.”

Amadis, when he realized that his armor was in pieces and he had no sword, remembered what Urganda had said, that he would give half the world, if it were his, to have his sword thrown into a lake. He looked at the window where Oriana was, and saw her back, he understood that his ill fortune had caused her to turn away. Great courage grew in him and he put his entire life at risk, preferring to die than to fail to do all he could.

He came at Ardan Canileo as if he meant to attack. Ardan raised the sword and waited for him. When Amadis neared, Ardan tried to strike him, but Amadis dodged and made him miss. Then Amadis came close, and before Ardan could raise his sword halfway up, he grabbed the central boss of his shield so hard that he pulled it from his arm and threw him on the ground.

Amadis stepped back, put the shield on his arm, and picked up the piece of an iron-tipped lance from the ground in front of him. He then faced Ardan, protected by his shield. Ardan, furious at having lost his shield, charged at him and tried to strike him on the top of his helmet. Amadis raised the shield and took the blow with it, and although it was very strong and of fine steel, the sword sunk through its center fully three fingers deep.

Amadis struck Ardan with the piece of the lance on the right arm just above his hand and thrust half the iron between the two long bones. This made Ardan lose his strength so that he could not pull the sword from the shield, and Amadis took it away with the shield. Whether this made Amadis happy and content is not to be questioned or said. Then he threw the piece of the lance very far away and took the sword from the shield, praising God for the mercy He had done.

Mabilia, who was watching, took Oriana by the hands and made her turn to see her beloved win a great victory and overcome the great danger he had been in. Amadis charged at Ardan Canileo, who felt weak to see his death approaching. He thought he could find no refuge or help, so he tried to take the shield from Amadis in the same way Amadis had done. But Amadis, when he saw him close, struck a blow on his right shoulder that cut through his armor and sank deeply into his flesh and bones.

When Ardan saw that he had lost the use of his arm, he fled across the field in terror of the sword. But Amadis chased him and saw that he was tired and confused. He grabbed his helmet so roughly that he made Ardan fall at his feet and pulled the helmet from his head. Amadis came over him while he was kneeling and cut off his head.

This brought great joy to all, especially King Arban of North Wales and Angriote d’Estravaus, who had suffered great anguish and pain when they saw Amadis in difficulty, as ye have heard.

When this was done, Amadis took the head and threw it outside of the field, then dragged the body to a peak and cast it into the sea. He cleaned the blood from his sword and put it in his scabbard. The King immediately ordered him to be given a horse, on which he rode to his lodging, having suffered many wounds and lost much blood, and he was accompanied by many knights.

But first he had King Arban of North Wales and Angriote d’Estravaus released from their cruel imprisonment, and he took them with him. He sent King Arban of North Wales to Queen Brisena, his aunt, who had left a request for him at his lodging. Both he and his loyal friend Angriote were given medical treatment, Amadis for his wounds and Angriote for the whippings and other injuries he had suffered in prison.

There they were visited by the knights and the ladies and damsels of court with much love, and Amadis by his cousin Mabilia, who brought the true medicine with which his heart could be strengthened and send the other smaller injures the health that they needed.
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“Isabel” - the television series

2013-01-24T10:05:00.001+01:00

Spain’s history triumphs on the small screen.

Isabel I of Castilla, Enrique IV, and Alfonso of Castilla. TVE photo.
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If you understand Spanish, you may wish to watch one of this fall’s most popular television series in Spain, “Isabel.” It was aired on Televisíon Española (TVE), and you can watch the 13 episodes at the series’s website:
http://www.rtve.es/television/isabel-la-catolica/

RTVE describes it this way:

The thrilling battle of a woman to become queen: this is the story that “Isabel” tells in its first series. Specifically, it begins with her education when she was hardly more than a girl, and ends with her coronation at only 23 years old, a key period for understanding the personality of the woman who was later called Isabel the Catholic.

If you watch closely, you’ll notice a few historical inaccuracies, and social customs and language have been simplified. I’m particularly disappointed in the choice of the actor to portray Fernando of Aragon, whom she marries at age 18. He was only 17 years old when they wed, but the actor — talented and handsome, to be sure — is twice that age.

On the other hand, the series makes good use of Spain’s heritage: the actual castles where events took place, for example. The intrigues, battles, and personalities were real, and the photography and scripts will keep you riveted. This series gathered a 22% audience share for a reason.

“Only God can take me from this throne,” Isabel declares at the end of the final episode, but He didn’t make it easy to get there.

A second season is planned that will include the war of succession between the backers of Isabel and Juana la Beltrana, the conquest of Granada, the expulsion of the Jews, and the voyage of Christopher Columbus.

The only surviving version of Amadis of Gaul was written during Isabel’s reign. I don’t know if she read it, but future Spanish kings did.
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Chapter 61 [part 4 of 5]

2013-01-15T10:26:00.000+01:00

[How Amadis prepared and the battle began, but his sword was no match Ardan Canileo’s.]

[A relic on display at the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s Ecclesiastical Treasury in Vienna. In real medieval life, reliquaries and magic weapons were prohibited in fights like these. Photo by Sue Burke.]

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Amadis took the King aside, away from the other knights, and said:

“My lord, know that I have lost my sword, which I did not discover until now, and only the scabbard remains.”

The King was very troubled by that and told him:

“Although I have promised and upheld never to give my sword to any knight in my court who was fighting one-on-one, I shall give you it now, in consideration of the great confrontations that ye have been placed in while in my service.”

“My lord,” Amadis said, “may it not please God that I, who must support and keep your pledge, make ye break it, for ye have made that promise before many noblemen.”

Tears came to the King’s eyes, and he said:

“Ye are such that ye maintain all that is just and loyal. But what shall ye do, if ye cannot have that fine sword?”

“I have the sword with which I was launched into the sea,” he said, “which Sir Guilan brought here and the Queen ordered to be kept. With it and with your prayers to our Lord, which will be worth much before Him, I shall be aided.”

Then he tried the other sword in the scabbard and it fit well, although a little smaller. The King was pleased by that because Amadis could bring the scabbard with him, which had the virtue of protecting him from great heat and cold because it was made from dragons’ bones, although that sword was nowhere near as good as the other one.

And so they spent the day until it was time to sleep, and all those knights of whom ye have heard placed their arms around the King’s bed.

But I tell you that in Ardan Canileo’s tents that night, he and all his people held a party and danced and sang, playing many kinds of musical instruments, and at the end of the songs, they all shouted:

“Come, morning, come and bring the bright day, because Ardan Canileo shall fulfill his promise to the very beautiful Madasima.”

But fortune was contrary to this in a different way than they thought.

Amadis lay that night in the King’s bed, but sleep did not come to his aid, and so at midnight he got up without saying a word and went to the chapel, woke the chaplain, and confessed all his sins. They both prayed before the altar of the Virgin Mary, asking Her to be his advocate in the battle.

When dawn came, the King arose as did the knights whom ye have heard tell of, and they heard Mass. Knights who knew the task well armed Amadis. But before he put on his chain mail, Mabilia came and put some relics in gold cases around his neck, saying that his mother, the Queen, had sent them with the Damsel of Denmark. But that was not so, for Queen Elisena had given them to Amadis when she learned he was her son, and he had given them to Oriana when he rescued her from Arcalaus and the men who were carrying her away.

When he was armed, they brought him a handsome horse that Corisanda had sent to Sir Florestan with other gifts. Sir Florestan carried his lance, Sir Guilan his shield, and Sir Bruneo his helmet. The King came on a fine horse with his scepter in his hand.

And know that all the people of the court and the town were around the field to watch the battle, and the ladies and damsels were in the windows, and the beautiful Oriana and Mabilia stood in a window of their chamber, and Briolanja and Madasima and other princesses were with the Queen.

When Amadis arrived at the field, they raised a chain. He entered and took his arms, and when he had to put on his helmet, he looked at his lady Oriana, and such great courage came to him that it seemed that nothing in the world could help him with equal strength. Then the judges entered the field who had to be arbiters for each knight. There were three of them: the fine old Sir Grumedan, who knew much about such things, and Sir Cuadragante, who was a vassal of the King, and Brandoivas.

Then Ardan Canileo arrived, well-armed on a fine horse, wearing very thick mail and carrying a shield and helmet of such clean bright steel that they shone like a sparkling mirror. He wore Amadis’s very good sword, which the damsel had stolen, and carrying a thick lance, waving it so hard that it seemed as if he wanted to break it. That was how he came onto the field.

When Oriana saw this, she said with great sorrow:

“Oh, my friends, how angry and fearsome comes my death, if God in his great mercy does not help him!”

“My lady,” Mabilia said, “leave that and put on a good face, because with it ye shall give strength to your beloved.”

Then Grumedon took Amadis and placed him at one end of the field, and Brandoivas put Ardan Canileo at the other, with their horses facing each other. Sir Cuadragante waited in the middle with a bugle in his hand, and the knights could charge when he played it.

Amadis, looking at his lady, shouted:

“What is Cuadragante doing that he does not sound the bugle?”

Cuadragante immediately played it, and the knights had their horses gallop, and they struck their lances on each others’ shields so bravely that they were immediately broken. They ran into each other, and Ardan Canileo’s horse fell over its neck and immediately died. Amadis’s had a shoulder broken and could not arise.

But Amadis, with his very spirited heart, got up immediately, although with difficulty, because a bit of the lance had passed through his shield and up the sleeve of his chain mail without touching his flesh. He took it out, put his hand on his sword, and went at Ardan Canileo, who had gotten up with great effort and was straightening his helmet. When he saw his situation, he put his hand on his sword and went to attack so bravely that no man who saw them was not very frightened, for his blows were so fierce and so fast that the sparks flying from the helmets and the swords made them seem to be on fire.

Even more like fire was the shield of Ardan Canileo, for it was steel and the blows of Amadis were so hard that the shield and his arm seemed to be burning in live flames. But its great strength protected Ardan’s flesh from being cut. This was to Amadis’ mortal peril, for his armor was not as strong and Ardan had one of the best swords in the world, so he struck no blow that did not cut armor and flesh. In many places Amadis’s armor was stained with blood and his shield was almost ruined.

Meanwhile Amadis’s sword could not cut through Ardan Canileo’s armor, which was very strong, but while his chain mail was thick and heavy, it had been cut in more than ten places, and from each one of them blood flowed fast. What helped Amadis the most at that time was the great agility with which he dodged most of his opponents blows, although Ardan had much experience in fighting and knew well how to attack with his sword.

In that peril as ye hear, they continued, delivering many great and harsh blows until the third hour of the day, toiling with their arms and hands so fiercely that Ardan became very afraid, for he had never found a knight so strong nor a giant so brave that they could resist his valor. And what made this battle harder was that he found his enemy growing more agile and stronger than he had been at the beginning, while he was growing more tired and weak and covered with blood.

Then Madasima realized he would fail in what he had promised, and Amadis would win in less time than it would take to walk a half-league. This did not trouble her, nor that Ardan Canileo would lose his head there, because at this point she thought she would rather lose all her lands than find herself yoked to that man in marriage.

The knights attacked with many great and powerful blows on all sides where they could do the most harm, and each one tried to bring the other to death. With his great agility and endurance, if Amadis had borne a better sword, the other knight could not have maintained himself in the field. Yet Amadis did everything he could and labored as hard as he could, for he was fighting a mighty and elusive knight at arms. By then all his armor was broken and his shield destroyed, and his flesh cut in many places from which blood flowed freely.
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The Giants of Galtares

2013-01-03T10:20:00.000+01:00

A short story inspired by Amadis of Gaul.

An illumination by Loyset Liédet for Froissart’s Chronicles about the Hundred Year’s War.
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In Chapters 11 and 12, Amadis’s brother Galaor travels to Galtares to do battle with the giant who has taken Galtares from Galaor’s step-father, also a giant. He is accompanied by two damsels he meets along the way.

Throughout the centuries, Amadis of Gaul has inspired a wide variety of sequels and spin-off works. I have continued that tradition and written the story of one of the damsels who sees Galaor triumph — and who faces her own life-changing test of courage.

You can read “The Giants of Galtares” in issue #111 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies, an online magazine of literary adventure fantasy:
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-giants-of-galtares/
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Chapter 61 [part 3 of 5]

2013-01-01T20:38:00.000+01:00

[How Amadis and other knights went to meet Madasima, and how his sword was discovered to be missing.]

[Tomb of Sir Garcia de Osorio, a knight of the Order of Santiago, originally located in a church in Toledo, Spain, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum of London.]

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When morning came, they put on rich clothing and, after hearing Mass, mounted beautiful palfreys and went to welcome Madasima. With them went Sir Bruneo of Bonamar and his brother Branfil, and Enil, who was a very genteel knight with a happy heart, well loved and esteemed by all for his good manners and great courage. And so eight companions went to welcome her.

They neared the tents and saw Madasima, Ardan Canileo, and his company. Madasima wore black clothing in mourning for her father and brother, but her beauty was so vivid and abundant that even in those clothes she seemed so lovely that it was a marvel to everyone. With her were her damsels, dressed in the same clothing. Ardan Canileo led her by the reins. The old giant and his sons also accompanied her, and the nine knights who would give themselves as hostages.

When the eight knights arrived, they bowed, and she bowed to them and seemed happy to see them. Amadis came to her and said:

“My lady, if ye are praised, it is rightly so, given your appearance, and anyone who knows you should consider himself blessed to honor and serve you. And I tell you that I shall do all I can in whatever ye may command.”

Ardan Canileo, who looked at him and saw that he was more handsome than any other man he had ever seen, was not pleased to have him speak to her, and told him:

“Knight, get back and do not be so bold as to talk to someone ye do not know.”

“My lord,” Amadis said, “that is why we came here, to know her and serve her.”

Ardan told him disdainfully:

“Then tell me now who ye are, and I shall see if ye are such that ought to serve a damsel of such high lineage.”

“Whoever I may be,” Amadis said, “I shall serve her willingly, and if I were not as worthy as I should be, I would not wish to do so any less. And if ye wish to know who I am, tell me who ye are, for ye wish to keep her from someone who would happily fulfill her orders.”

Ardan Canileo looked at him with fury and said:

“I am Ardan Canileo, and I could serve her better in one day than ye could in your entire life, even if ye were worth twice as much as ye are.”

“That may be,” Amadis said, “but I know that your great service, given your excessive ill will, would not be done with such a good heart as my small one. If ye wish to know me, know that I am Amadis of Gaul, the one ye seek to fight, and if I have given this lady any trouble or sorrow by doing what I could not avoid without great shame, I shall gladly correct that with some other service.”

Ardan Canileo said:

“If ye dare to keep your promise, I shall give her your head, which shall certainly make amends for her troubles.”

“Such amends shall not be by my will,” Amadis said, “but there is another, better amends that I shall make, and that will be for me to prevent the marriage between you and her, for I know no man so foolish as to think it good for her and your beauty to be made one.”

When he said this, it did not weigh on Madasima, who laughed freely, as did her damsels, but Ardan because so angry that he shook and his face became so fierce and frightening that anyone who saw him and did know Amadis’s achievements in arms or weigh Amadis’s strength and valor against Ardan’s, without a doubt would have believed that this would be Amadis’s last battle and the last day of his life.

And so as ye hear, they rode until they came before the King, and Ardan Canileo said:

“King, ye see here the knights who will become your prisoners to secure what my damsel has promised, if Amadis dares to keep his word.”

Amadis came forward and said:

“My lord, ye see me here, for I wish the battle immediately and without further delay, and I tell you that even if I had not promised it, I would fight if only to save Madasima from such an ill-suited marriage. But I want King Arban of North Wales and Angriote d’Estravaus to be brought to where I will be if I win the battle.”

Ardan Canileo said:

“I shall have them brought to where the battle will be, and if I take your head, I shall take those of the prisoners, and I shall also take Madasima and her damsels, who shall be held by the Queen, and thus everything agreed-upon shall be fulfilled. It will be proper to have her be where she can see the battle and the vengeance that I shall do for her.”

So, as ye hear, the beautiful Madasima and her damsels were placed under the power of the Queen and the old giant and his sons and the nine knights under the power of the King. But I tell you that Madasima appeared before the Queen with such humility and discretion that, although her arrival put Amadis in such danger, which troubled everyone, the Queen and her ladies and damsels were very content with her and did her many honors.

But Oriana and Mabilia, when they saw the brave countenance of Ardan Canileo, were terribly frightened and felt great worry and pain. They retired in their room and shed many tears, fearing that Amadis’s great courage would not be enough against that devil. If they had any hope, it was only in his good fortune, which had often saved him from great danger in confrontations so grave that little hope could have been had that he or anyone else might have won. As always, Mabilia gave Oriana great consolation.

When this was done, and the battle was set for the next day, the King ordered his hunters and archers to enclose a field in front of his palace with chains and posts so that the knights would not lose any honor on account of their horses. Oriana saw this from a window and, thinking of the danger that would befall her beloved there, she felt so faint that she almost fell senseless into the arms of Mabilia.

The King went to Amadis’s lodging, where many knights were, and told them that since the Queen and his daughter and Queen Brisena and all the other ladies and damsels would go to the chapel that night to ask God to protect her knight, he wished to take him to his palace, and with him Florestan, Agrajes, Sir Galvanes, Guilan, and Enil, so that they could rest. And he told Amadis to have his armor and weapons brought to the chapel because the next day he wanted him to be armed before the Virgin Mary so that She could intercede for him with Her glorious Son.

So they went with the King, and Amadis ordered Gandalin to take his arms to where the King had said. But when Gandalin went to get them to fulfill his orders, he could not find the sword in the sheath, and he was so frightened and sad that he wished he were dead, both because it had happened in a time of such great danger and because he took it as a sign that the death of his lord was near.

He looked for the sword everywhere and asked anyone who might know about it, but he learned nothing, and he was at the point of jumping from a window into the sea below until he remembered that by doing so, he would lose his soul. He went to the King’s palace with great anguish in his heart, took Amadis aside, and said:

“My lord, cut off my head for I have betrayed you, and if you do not, I must kill myself.”

Amadis told him:

“Where didst thou lose thy mind, or what ill fortune is it?”

“My lord,” he said, “it would be better if I were mad or dead than if at a time like this such great ill fortune had occurred, for know that I have lost your sword, which has been stolen from its scabbard.”

Amadis told him:

“Why art thou upset? I thought something worse had happened to thee. Now let it be, for there will be no lack of another with which God shall help me if it pleases Him.”

Although he said this as consolation, the loss of the sword did give him sorrow, both for being one of the best in the world and for needing it so much at that time, as well as for having won it by the power of the great love he had for his lady, because when he saw it and remembered her, it was a great relief to his mortal desires when she was absent. He told Gandalin to say nothing to anyone about it and to bring the scabbard, and to ask the Queen if the sword Sir Guilan had brought could be placed with his other arms, and if so, to bring it. And, if Gandalin could see Oriana, to ask her on his behalf to let him see her when he and Ardan Canileo entered the field, to place herself somewhere visible, because her sight would make him the victor in that and anything else, no matter how grave it might be.

Gandalin went to do all that his lord had ordered, and the Queen ordered the sword to be given to him. But Queen Briolanja and Olinda told him:

“Oh, Gandalin, what dost thou think thy lord can do against that devil?”

He told them, laughing and with a cheerful face:

“My ladies, this is not the first dangerous deed that my lord has done. God has protected him so far, and He shall now, and since Amadis has maintained his honor in many other and more terrifying perils, he shall win in this one.”

“May it please God,” they said.

Then Gandalin went to Mabilia and told her to tell Oriana what his lord had sent him to ask. With that he returned to the chapel which held the arms and told his lord that everything had been done as he wished. Amadis took great pleasure and courage in knowing that his lady would be in a place where she could be seen from the field.
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Chapter 61 [part 2 of 5]

2012-12-18T10:45:00.000+01:00

[How Amadis lost his sword, and what the knight Ardan Canileo was like.]

[Entrance to the home of the Marquis of Quintana in Segovia, Spain, 15th century. Carvings of fifteen helmets surround the doorway, and above it is the shield of the Heredia-Peralta family, held by two wild men. The building is currently the Segovia Conservatory of Music. Photo by Sue Burke.]

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When this was done, Amadis brought the damsel to his lodging, which he should not have done even in exchange for the best castle his father had. To do her more honor, he placed her and her two squires in a room where Gandalin kept all his arms and armor and finery. The damsel, looking around, saw Amadis’s sword, which seemed very unusual, and she told her squires and the others who were there to leave and let her be alone for a moment.

Thinking that she wished to do some necessity of nature that could not be avoided, they left her. She closed the door, took the sword, and left the sheath and belt arranged so that it would not seem like it was missing, then put it beneath a thick fur that she had brought that was unusually long. She opened the door, and the squires entered, and she put the sword beneath one of their cloaks and ordered him to take it by stealth to their launch, and told him:

“Bring me my drinking cup, and they will think that ye are going for that.”

The squire did so. Then Amadis and Branfil entered the room and had her sit on an estrado, and Amadis told her:

“My lady, tell us when Madasima will arrive tomorrow, if ye please.”

“She shall come before dinner,” she said, “but why do ye ask?”

“Good lady,” he said, “because we will to go meet her and provide her every possible pleasure and service, for if she has received some affront from me, I shall try to make amends by doing what she may wish.”

“If ye do not go back on what ye have promised,” she said, “and Ardan Canileo is the same as he has always been since he took up arms, ye can make amends by giving her your head, since anything else would not be worth much.”

“I will avoid this if I can, but if I can please her any other way, I shall gladly do that to achieve her pardon, but someone else would need to arrange it who wishes it more than ye do.”

With that they left and let Enil and others serve her. But she was so eager to leave that all the many delicacies they brought only annoyed her, and as soon as the tablecloths were raised, she rose and said to Enil:

“Knight, tell Amadis that I am leaving, and he should know that everything he did for me was wasted.”

“May God help me,” Enil said, “the way ye are, I think that anything done to please you would be wasted.”

“Be that as it may,” she said, “I am little taken by you and less by him.”

“Ye may be sure,” Enil said, “that being such a discourteous damsel as ye are, neither he nor I nor anyone else could make you content.”

With these words the damsel left, and she went to the ship feeling very happy because she had the sword. There, she told Ardan Canileo and Madasima that their message had been delivered, the time of the battle had been set, and she brought guarantees from the King so they could land without any concern.

Ardan Canileo thanked her sincerely for what she had done, and said to Madasima:

“My lady, do not consider me a knight if ye do not leave here with honor and with your land free. If I do not give you Amadis’s head before a man, no matter how fast, could walk half a league, do not give me your love.”

She was quiet and said nothing, for however much she wished to get avenge her father’s and brother’s deaths on he who had killed them, by no way in the world could she see herself united with Ardan Canileo, for she was beautiful and noble, and he was more ugly and disfigured and repugnant than anyone she had ever seen. It was her mother’s wish and not her own to have Ardan Canileo defend their land, and it was her mother’s wish that if he avenged the death of her husband and son, she would have him marry Madasima and would leave him all her land.

Since this Ardan Canileo was a noteworthy knight of great worldly fame for his deeds at arms, this story should tell you where he was from, and of the appearance of his body and face, and other things about him. Know that he was born in a province called Canileo and was of giants’ blood, for there were more giants there than in other places, and while his body was not unusually large, he was taller than any other man who was not a giant.

He had heavy limbs, broad shoulders, and a thick neck, and his hands and legs were in proportion. His face was large with a flat, canine-like nose, and for that resemblance he was called Canileo. His nose was flat, wide, reddish, and covered with thick black freckles, which were also sown on his face, hands, and neck, and he had a rough appearance somewhat like a lion. His lips were thick and turned, and his hair and beard so curly they could hardly be combed.

He was thirty-five years old and since he was twenty-five, he had never found a knight or giant, no matter how strong they were, who could defeat him hand-to-hand or in any other test of courage. But he was so big-boned and so heavy that hardly any horse could be found that could carry him. This is what that knight looked like.

And when, as ye have heard, he promised the head of Amadis to the beautiful Madasima, the giant damsel told him:

“My lord, we should rightly place our hope on you in this battle, since fortune shows itself to be on your side and not on your enemy’s. Ye see here that I bring you his precious sword, and it is no mystery that nothing could be a greater advantage to you and greater disadvantage to him.”

Then she put it in his hand and told him how she got it. Ardan took it and said:

“I thank you deeply for the gift that ye bring me, more for the good means by which ye have gotten it than out of any fear that I have in fighting one lone knight.”

Then he ordered tents to be taken from the ship and had them erected in a field alongside the town, where they all went with their horses and palfreys, bringing the arms of Ardan Canileo and expecting that the next day they would be before King Lisuarte and Queen Brisena, his wife. There Ardan felt very happy to have the battle arranged for two reasons: first, because without any doubt he expected to take the head of Amadis, who was so renowned in the world, and all his glory would become Canileo’s; second, because with Amadis’s death he would win the beautiful Madasima, whom he loved so much, and that made him proud and lofty and fearless. And thus they waited in their tents for word from the King.

Amadis, in turn, was in his lodging with many knights of high means that were always with him, and all them greatly dreaded the battle, which they considered so dangerous that they feared he might lose. At this time Agrajes, Sir Florestan, Galvanes the Landless, and Sir Guilan the Pensive arrived, who knew nothing about this because they had been out hunting in the forest. When they learned the battle had been set, they complained because more knights would not be involved so that they could enter it. The one most passionate about it was Sir Guilan, who had heard it said many times that this Ardan Canileo was stronger and mightier than anyone else in the world. Sir Guilan was sorry because he believed that in no way could Amadis survive in a one-on-one fight, and he deeply wished he could be in that battle with Amadis if it were possible and have the same fate as him.

Sir Florestan, who burned with anger, said:

“May God save me, my lord brother, ye must hold me as nothing, nor as a knight, nor love me, for ye did not think of me, and ye show that ye do not think I can protect you, for ye have left me out of this danger.”

Agrajes and Sir Galvanes also complained bitterly.

“My lords,” Amadis said, “do not complain nor feel hurt and blame me over this, because only I was called for in this battle and because of me it was sought, and so I could not respond in any other fashion without showing weakness other than accepting it. If there were some other way, who would I have to help me and aid me except you? Your great courage always encourages me when I am put in danger.”

And so as ye hear those knights forgave Amadis, and he told them:

“It would be good if we mounted before the King leaves and receive Madasima, who is much esteemed by all who know her.”

And so they passed that night speaking about what they enjoyed most.
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Chapter 61 (part 1 of 5)

2012-12-04T10:04:00.000+01:00

How King Lisuarte was speaking with his knights about his wish to fight at the Island of the Boiling Lake to free King Arban of North Wales and Angriote de Estravaus from prison, when a giant damsel arrived from the sea and asked the King, in front of the Queen and his court, to have Amadis fight with Ardan Canileo. If Arden Canileo were defeated, the island would be subject to the King and he could free all the prisoners he wished, but if Amadis were defeated, they would want nothing other than to take Amadis’s head to Madasima.

[Isabella of Coimbra (1432-1455), first wife of King Alfonso V of Portugal, a richly dressed lady of her time. Painting by Nuno Gonçalves.]

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After Urganda had left, as ye have heard, several days passed. King Lisuarte was traveling through the countryside speaking with his knights about how he wished to take the Island of Mongaza, where the Boiling Lake was, to free King Arban of North Wales and Angriote de Estravaus, when they saw a ship coming by sea toward the port of the town to disembark. They went to see who traveled in it.

When the King arrived, a damsel and two squires were coming to shore in a launch. When they arrived, the damsel rose and asked if King Lisuarte was there. They said yes, and they were all amazed at her height, for in all the court there was no knight who was within a large palm of her. All her facial features and limbs were in keeping with her height, and she was quite beautiful and richly dressed.

She said to the King:

“My lord, I bring you a message, and if it please you, I shall deliver it before the Queen.”

“So it shall be done,” the King said.

He went to his palace and the damsel followed him. When they were before the Queen and all the knights and women of the court, the damsel asked if Amadis of Gaul was there, the one who had previously called himself Beltenebros. He answered:

“Good damsel, I am he.”

She looked at him angrily and said:

“It could well be that ye are him, but now we shall see if ye are as good as your praise.”

Then she took two letters with golden seals that she brought, which were her credentials, and gave one to the King and the other to the Queen. The King said:

“Damsel, say what ye wish, and we shall listen.”

The damsel said:

“My lord, Gromadaza, the giantess of the Boiling Lake, and the very beautiful Madasina, and Ardan Canileo the Feared, who shall defend them, have learned that ye wish to come to their land and take it. And because this cannot be accomplished without great loss of life, they say that there should be a trial by combat in this way: that Ardan Canileo shall fight Amadis of Gaul, and if Ardan defeats or kills him, the land shall remain free and ye shall let him take Amadis’s head to the Boiling Lake. If Ardan is defeated, they shall give all their land to you, my lord, and their prisoners, King Arban of North Wales and Angriote de Estravaus, shall immediately be brought here. If Amadis loves them as much as they think and wishes to make their hope in him come true, he shall grant the battle to free those two friends, but if he is defeated or killed, Ardan Canileo shall take them. And if Amadis does not grant the battle, he shall soon see their heads cut off in front of him.”

“Good damsel,” Amadis said, “if I grant this battle, how can the King be certain that your words will be complied with?”

“I shall tell you,” she said. “The beautiful Madasima, along with twelve damsels of high estate, shall enter into the custody of the Queen to guarantee compliance or their heads shall be cut off. And of you, Madasima wishes no other guarantee than if ye die, that she shall take your head and shall be given safe passage. And they shall do more. For this cause King Andanguel, the old giant, shall enter into custody with his two sons and nine knights, who control the prisons and towns and castles of the island.

Amadis said:

“If these people place themselves in the custody of the King and Queen as ye say, those are very fine guarantees. But I tell you that ye shall not have my response if ye and the squires with you do not agree to dine with me.”

“Why do ye invite me?” she said. “This is not wise, and all your effort shall be lost because I despise you mortally.”

“Good damsel,” Amadis said, “this hurts me because I love you and would do you all the honor I could. And if ye wish my response, grant what I have asked.”

The damsel said:

“I grant it, but more to make you respond as ye ought to than by my own free will.”

Amadis said:

“Good damsel, it is a just cause for me to risk myself for those two friends and because by it the reign of the King can be increased, and for that I accept the battle in the name of God. May those of whom you spoke come here to be hostages.”

“Truly,” the damsel said, “ye have replied as I wished. The King must promise that if ye go back on your word, he shall not help you against the family of Famongomadan.”

“This promise is not necessary,” Amadis said, “for the King would not have anyone in his company whose word is not true. And let us go eat, for it is time.”

“I shall go,” she said, “happier than I thought, and since the virtue of the King is as ye say, I am satisfied.”

And she said to the King and Queen:

“Tomorrow Madasima and her damsels and the knights shall be here as your prisoners. Ardan Canileo will want to have the battle immediately, but it is necessary that ye grant him safety against everyone except Amadis, whose head he shall carry away from here.”

Sir Bruneo of Bonamar, who was present, said:

“My lady damsel, often those who think they will take another’s head in fact lose their own, and soon this may happen to Ardan Canileo.”

“Who are ye who speaks for Amadis?”

“I am a knight,” he said, “who would gladly enter into the battle if Ardan Canileo wished to have a companion fight me.”

She told him:

“Ye are excused from this battle, but if ye wish to fight so much, the day after the battle I shall have my brother answer you. He is as mortal an enemy of Amadis as ye show yourself to be his friend, and I think, given how my brother is, that he shall remove your ability to speak for him ever again.”

“My good damsel,” Sir Bruneo said, “if your brother is as ye say, it would be good to go forward with that which ye promised in anger and rage. And ye see here my gage, for I wish to fight him.”

And he held his cloak out to the King, and the damsel took a silver net from her head and said to the King:

“My lord, see here my token that I shall fulfill what I have said.”

The King took the gages, but not to his pleasure. He was deeply troubled by what would happen between Amadis and Ardan Canileo, who was as valiant and feared a knight as any in the world. For four years the King had found no knight who would knowingly dare to fight him.
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Chapter 60 [part 3 of 3]

2012-11-20T10:02:00.000+01:00

[In which Urganda speaks of things to come, and then departs.]

[The shield of the town of Ereño, in Basque Country, northern Spain. It features two wolves at a laurel tree, a castle, and St. Michael the Archangel killing a dragon (serpent). Dragons feature prominently in Basque mythology.]

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After a few days, Urganda asked the King to call together all his knights, and she asked the Queen to call together all her damsels and ladies, because she wished to speak to them before she left.

This was done immediately in a grand and beautiful hall, richly decorated, and Urganda placed herself where everyone could hear her. Then she said to the King:

“My lord, since ye have kept the letters that I sent you and Sir Galaor when Beltenebros left you, who had won the sword and his damsel had won the garland of flowers, I ask you to bring them here, for ye shall see clearly that I had known things before they happened.”

The King had them brought and read to aloud, and they saw how everything in them was completely fulfilled, which amazed everyone, and they were even more amazed at the daring of the King to go into battle despite those frightening words. They saw how by Beltenebros’s three blows the battle was won, the first when he brought down King Cildadan at the feet of Sir Galaor, the second when he killed the very valiant Sarmadan the Lion, and the third when he saved the King, whom Madanfabul, the brave giant of the Vermilion Tower, was taking under his arm to put in the ships. Amadis cut the giant’s arm off above the elbow, which saved the King, and the giant was killed.

They also that saw that what had been said to Sir Galaor had been fulfilled: that his head would be put in the power of he who delivered those three blows. This happened when Amadis held Galaor’s head in his lap, dying, and the damsels came to ask him to give Galaor to them.

“But now,” Urganda said, “I wish to say some things that are to come, and in time one shall follow the other.”

And she said:

“A dispute shall be raised between the great serpent and the powerful lion, in which many animals shall take part. Anger and fury shall overcome them, and many of them shall suffer cruel death. The great Roman fox shall be injured by the claw of the powerful lion and his skin cruelly torn apart, for which the supporters of the great serpent shall be greatly troubled. At that time a gentle ewe covered with black wool shall be put among them, and with its great humility and loving deeds she shall tame the rough bravery of the mighty hearts and separate one from another.

“But soon hungry wolves shall descend from the rugged mountains against the great serpent, and all his animals shall be defeated by them, and he shall be made prisoner in one of their caves. And the tender unicorn shall put its mouth at the ear of the mighty lion, and with its brays shall wake it from its deep sleep, make it gather some of its brave animals and go quickly to help the great serpent. They will find him bitten and torn by the hungry wolves, so that much blood shall be shed between its mighty scales. The lion shall take him from their ravenous mouths, and all the wolves shall be torn to pieces and destroyed.

“With life restored to the great serpent, he shall expel all of his poison. A white doe, braying pitifully to heaven in the fearsome forest, shall be brought out and shall consent to be put in the cruel claws of the lion.

“Now, good King, have all that which shall come to pass be written down.”

The King said he would do so, but at that moment he understood nothing of it.

“The time will come,” she said, “when it shall all become clear.”

And Urganda looked at Amadis and saw him thinking, and said to him:

“Amadis, why art thou thinking about something that will do thee no good? Leave that and think of an affair which thou must do now. Thou shalt be brought to the point of death for the life of another, and for the other’s blood thou shalt give thine. And in that affair, thou shalt be the martyr and the other shall take the gain, and the prize thou shalt win will be rage and the delay of thy desire. Thy sharp and handsome sword shall trouble thy bones and flesh in such a way that thou shalt be poor of blood. And thou shalt be in such a state that if half the world were thine, thou wouldst trade it to have the sword broken or thrown into some lake where none could recover it. And now watch what thou doest, for it shall all come to pass as I have said.”

Amadis, seeing the eyes of all on him, said with a happy face, as he usually had:

“My lady, because of the things that ye have said about the past, we may believe that these things are true, and as I am mortal and cannot achieve more in life than that which pleases God, I say that I care more to justly accomplish great and grave things in which honor and fame are won than to remain alive, and so, if I were to fear frightful things, I would fear them more in what happens now to me every day than to fear those hidden things which are to come.”

Urganda said:

“It would be as big a task to take the great courage from your heart as to take all the water from the sea.”

Then she said to the King:

“My lord, I wish to go. Remember what I said before you as from someone who wishes your honor and service. Close your ears to all, especially those who you sense wish to bring you to evil deeds.”

With that she bid farewell to all, and with her four companions and without wishing further accompaniment, she went to her ship. It entered the high sea and was soon covered by great darkness.
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Chapter 60 [part 2 of 3]

2012-11-06T11:30:00.000+01:00

[In which Urganda says that none can escape their fate, even if they were to know it.]

[The Crystal Ball, by John William Waterhouse, 1902, a Pre-Raphaelite painter.]

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Urganda went to see the Queen accompanied by the four knights. The Queen, along with Oriana and Queen Briolanja and all the other ladies and damsels of great estate, received her with deep affection. Urganda gazed long at the beauty of Briolanja but saw well that she did not at all equal that of Oriana, yet she greatly enjoyed looking at them both.

She said to the Queen:

“My lady, I have come to this court to see your Highnesses, both you and the King, and to see the greatest height of arms and the flower of beauty in the world, which I truly believe could not be found in the company of any other emperor or prince. To prove this, we have as testimony the winning of Firm Island with greater courage than that of the valiant Apolidon, and we have the death of the brave giants and the painful and cruel battle in which was shown the extent of the bravery of your husband the King and all his men. Who would be so daring and ill informed as to affirm that the equal in beauty to these two ladies could be found anywhere in the world? None, truly. And thus, seeing these things, my heart is put at full ease and rest. And I say further, that faithful love is kept here more than in any other age, which has been shown by the test of the burning sword and the wreath of flowers, which for sixty years had been taken all over the world but had never found the ones who could win them. She who won the flowers knows well that she outshines everyone else in the world in being loyal to her lover.”

When Oriana heard this, she lost her color and felt very faint, thinking that if Urganda had learned anything about herself and her beloved, they would be in great danger and shame, as did all the ladies there who had lovers. Above all Mabilia and the Damsel of Denmark were afraid, believing that the greatest danger would befall them. Oriana looked at Amadis, who was nearby, and when he saw her fear, he came to her and said:

“My lady, do not be afraid, for she will not speak as ye think.”

Then he said to the Queen:

“My lady, ask Urganda who the woman was who took the wreath of flowers from here.”

And the Queen said to her:

“My friend, tell us, if ye would, what Amadis wishes to know.”

Urganda laughed and said:

“He would know better than I, for he traveled in her company and had the great task of freeing her from the hands of Arcalaus the Sorcerer and Lindoraque.”

“I, my lady?” Amadis said. “It cannot be that I know her nor myself, as ye know, and although she had wished to cover her face from me, in vain would she try to keep you from finding out who she was.”

“Since that is so,” she said, “I wish to say what I know.”

Then she spoke loudly so all could hear her, and she said:

“Although Amadis brought her to the test as a damsel, I am certain that she is a lady, and she came to be one by deeply loving he for whom she would win the wreath of flowers. And know that she is from the reign of this King, and your subject, but on her mother’s side she is not from these lands. She has made her dwelling in this land and is well endowed in it. If she is lacking anything, it is not having at her will as much as she wishes he whom she loves so much. And I shall not tell you more of her estate, for may God forbid that things be revealed by me that ought to be hidden. And whoever wishes to find her may look for her in the reign of this King, where their effort will be lost.”

Oriana’s heart relaxed, as did those of the others. The Queen told her:

“I believe what ye say, but I know as much as I knew before, except that ye say she is a lady instead of a damsel.”

“This will be enough for ye to know,” Urganda said, “since by showing her faithfulness she honored your court.”

With this Oriana was relieved of her concern as were all the other women. And with this, they went to eat, which was well prepared, as is to be expected in a house where this is customary. Urganda asked the Queen if she could be lodged with Oriana and Queen Briolanja.

“So it shall be,” the Queen said, “but understand that their foolishness may upset you.”

“Their beauty,” Urganda said, “will cause more upset among knights who do not protect themselves from it, for not courage nor valor nor discretion can save them from its danger, which is more serious than death.”

The Queen said, laughing:

“I understand that they will easily release the knights who until now have been tormented and killed.”

Urganda took great pleasure in what the Queen said, and taking her leave, went with Oriana to her chamber, which was a room with four beds: one for Queen Briolanja, and the others for Oriana, Mabilia, and Urganda. There they relaxed and spoke of many things that gave them pleasure until they went to bed. But after they were all asleep, Urganda saw that Oriana was awake, and told her:

“My friend and lady, if ye do not sleep, it is because ye are awakened by he who never sleeps or rests without the sight of you, and so he is avenged upon you.”

Oriana was embarrassed by what she said, but Urganda, who understood that, told her:

“My lady, do not fear me because I know your secrets. I shall keep them as you do, and if I say anything, it shall be so hidden that, when it is known, danger cannot harm you.”

Oriana said:

“My lady, speak quietly, so these ladies do not hear.”

Urganda said:

“I shall relieve you of that worry.”

Then she took a book so small that she had kept it hidden in her hand, had Oriana hold it in her hand, and began to read from it. Then she said:

“Now know that no matter what, they shall not awaken, and if someone were to enter this room, they would fall to the floor asleep.”

Oriana went to Queen Briolanja and tried to wake her, but she could not, and began to laugh. She shook her head and arms and pulled her from the bed, and did the same to Mabilia, but they did not awaken. And she called the Damsel of Denmark, who was at the door of the room, and when she came inside, she fell asleep. Then she happily lay with Urganda in her bed and told her:

“My lady, I beg you that, since your great discretion and wisdom reaches to things are yet to happen, tell me something about what will happen to me before it comes to pass.”

Urganda looked at her, laughing as if with disdain, and said:

“My dear child, do you think that by knowing what ye ask, if it were to your harm, ye could avoid it? Do not believe it, for of what is permitted and ordained by the Lord on high, none of us is powerful enough to stop, be it good or bad, if He does not interfere. But since ye are so eager to know something I can tell you, I shall do so, and ye shall see if knowing it is to your benefit.”

Then she said,

“In that time when great sorrow shall be thine, and for thee many people shall be tormented with great sadness, a mighty lion shall appear with his beasts and with his great roars thy protectors shall be frightened, and thou shalt be left in his powerful claws. And this renowned lion shall throw from thy head the high crown that shall never be thine again. And the hungry lion shall take your flesh and hide it in his caves, and with it his ravenous hunger shall be eased. Now, my good child, watch what thou doest, for this shall come to pass.”

“My lady,” Oriana said, “I would have been very happy not to have asked you anything, for now ye have terrified me with this strange and cruel turn of events.”

“My lady and lovely child,” she said, “do not seek to now that which neither thy discretion nor thy strength is enough to prevent. But many times people fear hidden things that ought to make them happy, and so be very happy to know that God has made ye the daughter of the best king and queen in the world, and with such beauty that it is spoken of in all parts as a marvel. And He made ye love a man who, above all others, shines with honor and esteem like the sun over the shadows. And by the things ye have seen of him in the past and shall in the future, without a doubt ye may be sure to be she whom he loves more than his own life. For this, my lady, ye deserve to receive the glory of reigning over him, and he deserves to be the lord of the entire world. And now it is time to awaken these ladies.”

Then, she took the book out of the room, and everyone became conscious again. And so as ye hear, Urganda rested in that house, being well attended in all that she needed.
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Chapter 60 [part 1 of 3]

2012-10-23T10:22:00.000+02:00

How the King saw strange fires approaching by the sea, which was a small galley in which the sorceress Urganda was arriving, and what happened to him with her.

[A 13th-century war galley depicted in a Byzantine-style fresco.]

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It was almost time to sleep, and after having supped, the King was in a gallery looking at the sea when he saw two fires coming toward the town. Everyone was frightened, for it seemed wrong to have the sea and fire joined. But when the flames came closer, they saw that they were in a galley that bore strange, enormous candles on its mast, so it seemed that the whole ship was on fire.

The noise was so great that all the townspeople climbed up on the city walls to see the wonder, believing that if water were not enough to put out the fire, then nothing else could, and the town would be burned. The people were terrified because the galley and the fires had drawn near, and the Queen and all her ladies and damsels went to the chapel in terror.

The King mounted a horse with the fifty knights that always guarded him, and when he arrived at the shore, he saw that the rest of his knights were there. In front of all of them were Amadis and Guilan the Pensive and Enil, so close to the flames that he was surprised they could stand it. The King spurred his horse, which was frightened by the great noise, and joined them.

But soon they saw beneath the sail a lady dressed in white with a small golden box in her hand, which she opened in front of them all and took out a lighted taper. When she threw it in the sea to extinguish it, the great fires immediately went dead and no sign of them remained. All the people were happy at that and lost their fear, and only one large candle burned at the top of the mast, which lit the entire shore.

The curtain that covered the galley was pulled back, and they saw that it was all wreathed with roses and flowers, and they heard musical instruments inside playing so sweetly that it was marvel. The music stopped, and ten richly dressed damsels with garlands on their heads and golden wands in their hands came out, and in front of them was the lady who had extinguished the taper in the sea. They came directly to bow of the galley toward the King. They all knelt, and the King looked at them and said:

“My lady, ye put a great terror in us with your fires, and if it please you, tell us who ye are, although I think that we can guess without much effort.”

“My lord,” she said, “in vain would anyone try to put terror or fear in your great heart and those of the many knights who are here, but the fire that ye saw I brought to protect myself and my damsels. And if ye think that I am Urganda the Unrecognized, ye think rightly. I come to you as the greatest king in the world, and to see the Queen, who in virtue and goodness has no equal in the world.”

Then she said to Amadis:

“My lord, come forward, and I must say to you and your friends that I am here to relieve you of the labor that ye wish to employ to look for your brother Sir Galaor. It would be a lost effort, even if everyone in the world were to look for him. I tell you that he has recovered from his wounds and now has a better life and more pleasure than he has ever had in this world.”

“My lady,” Amadis said, “it was always my thought that after God, your aid would bring health to Sir Galaor and rest to me, and by the way he was sought and taken before my eyes, if I had not suspected this, I would have sooner let him die than be separated from me. And as thanks for this I can give you nothing else but, as ye know better than all, to put my person without any fear in all things to your honor and service, although it were my death.”

“Ye may rest,” she said, “and soon ye shall see him in such pleasure that ye, too, shall be pleased.”

The King said to her:

“My lady, when ye leave your galley, come to my palace.”

“Many thanks,” she said, “but tonight I shall remain here and tomorrow I shall do as ye ask. And may Amadis, Agrajes, Sir Bruneo of Bonamar, and Sir Guilan the Pensive come to get me, for they are in love and have lively hearts, as I do.”

“So it shall be in this,” the King said, “and in all that ye wish.”

And he ordered all the people to return to the town, said goodbye to her, and returned to his palace, ordering twenty men with crossbows to be placed at the shore to make sure that no one approached.

The next morning the Queen sent twelve richly attired palfreys so Urganda and her damsels could come, and Amadis and the three knights she had named went to escort her, dressed in very noble and valuable clothing. When they arrived they found that Urganda and her damsels had left the ship and were in a tent that had been put up during the night. The knights dismounted and went to her and were very well received, all with great humility. Then they put the women on the palfreys, and the four knights rode surrounding Urganda.

And when she found herself thus, she said:

“Now my heart is relaxed and in complete rest, for those whose hearts are like it are close by.”

She said this because in the same way that they were in love, she was enamored with the handsome knight who was her beloved.

When they arrived at the palace, they entered and went to the King, who received her very well, and she kissed his hands. Looking from one end to the other, she saw many knights in the palace, and she looked at the King and said:

“My lord, ye are well accompanied, and I do not say this for the courage of these knights but for the great love they have for you, for when princes are loved by their men, they are secure in their estates. For that reason, be sure to keep them so that it will not seem that your discretion may yet lack all the blessings it could hold. Beware of bad advisers, for that is the true poison that destroys princes. And if it pleases you, I shall see the Queen, and I will speak with you about some things before I leave, my lord.”

The King said:

“My friend, I thank you deeply for the advice ye have given me and I shall do all in my power to follow it. Go and see the Queen, who loves you dearly, and know that she shall gladly do all that she can for your pleasure.”
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Chapter 59 [part 3 of 3]

2012-10-09T10:15:00.000+02:00

[How Cuadragante’s enmity with Amadis became friendship, and the consequences that had.]

[Head of a king from about 1230-1235, probably a decoration from a Paris church. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.]

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Briolanja and Oriana, who were together, called for Amadis. When he arrived, they asked him to tell them the truth about a question they had for him, and he promised to do so. Oriana told him:

“Then tell us who the damsel was who took the wreath of flowers when ye won the sword.”

That question weighed on him, for he had to tell the truth, but he turned to Oriana and told her:

“May God not save me, my lady, if I know her name or who she is more than ye do, although I traveled with her for seven days. But I tell you that she had beautiful hair and what I saw of her was extremely beautiful, but of her estate I know as much as you, my lady, whom I believe ye have never beheld.”

Oriana said:

“Although she gained great glory in completing that adventure, it almost cost her dearly, for according to what they tell me, Arcalaus the Sorcerer and Lindoraque, his nephew, wanted to take the wreath and would have hung her by the hair if ye had not protected her.”

“It does not seem to me,” Briolanja said, “that he defended her if he is Amadis, but instead the valiant man at arms was Beltenebros, who should not be held at the same level as Amadis. And although I have received great benefit from him, I shall not cease to speak the truth without prejudice because of that. I say that if Amadis achieved great glory in winning Firm Island by far surpassing the courage of the mighty Apolidon, then Beltenebros, defeating in the space of one day ten of the best knights of your father’s court and killing in battle the brave giant Famongomadan and his son Basagante, he achieved no less.

“Then, if we say that Amadis, by passing beneath the arch of the faithful lovers, caused the statue with the trumpet to do more for him than for any other knight and made it clear the loyalty of his love, then it seems to me that Beltenebros should not be held as less for pulling out that burning sword, which for more than sixty years no other knight could do. And so, my dear lady, it is not right that the honor of Beltenebros should be given to Amadis, for each should be judged to be as good as the other. That is how I see it.”

And so as ye hear these two ladies were joking and laughing, in whom all the beauty and grace of the world was brought together, and they felt great pleasure to be with that knight who was so well loved by them. And his spirit felt such a great happiness, even more when he remembered the tremendous misadventure and cruel sadness he had felt when he was without any hope of deliverance at Poor Rock, having come so close to death.

As that was happening, as ye have heard, a damsel came to call for Amadis on behalf of the King and told him that Sir Cuadragante and his nephew Landin wanted to be freed from their promises. So he left the pleasure he had been having and went to where they were, and with him came Sir Bruneo of Bonamar and Branfil. When they arrived to where the King was with many good knights, Sir Cuadragante rose and said:

“My lord, I have been waiting here for Amadis of Gaul, as ye know, and now that he is present, I wish him to release me from the promise I made to him in front of you.”

Then he recounted everything that had happened to him in the battle and how, being defeated by Amadis, very much against his will he had come to the court, put himself under the his power, and forgiven him for the death of his brother King Abies. Yet having lost the passion that had clouded his thinking and kept him from determining the truth, he had found that it was more arrogance than justice to have desired and sought to avenge that death, for he now knew that nothing could be found improper about the battle had happened between two knights. And that being the case, he wished to pardon Amadis and be taken as a friend in whatever way it might please him.

The King told him:

“Sir Cuadragante, until now your great deeds at arms have gained ye much praise and honor and fame, and this should not be held as less, because bravery and courage that is not subject to reason and wisdom should not be held in high esteem.”

Then he had them embrace and Amadis thanked Cuadragante for what he had done and the friendship he had asked for, and although at the time it may have seemed trivial, this friendship was maintained for a long time between them, as this story shall tell. And since the battle between Forestan and Landin had been set for the same reason, it seemed right that since the main cause involving Cuadragante had been forgiven, Landin could justly do the same. That was done and the battle was cancelled, which gave Landin no small pleasure, having seen Forestan’s courage in the previous battle between the Kings.

When this was done, as ye have heard, and the King had spent some days at rest after the great endeavor of the battle with King Cildadan, he thought of the cruel imprisonment of Arban, King of North Wales, and Angriote de Estravaus, and he decided to go to the Island of Mongaza where they were. He told that to Amadis and his knights, but Amadis told him:

“My lord, ye know what a loss to your service is the lack of Sir Galaor, and if ye think it good, I shall look for him in the company of my brother and cousins, and may it please God to bring him back in time for this trip that ye wish to make.”

The King told him:

“God knows, my friend, if I did not have so many duties, I would gladly go myself to look for him, but since I cannot, I think it good to do what ye propose.”

Then more than one hundred knights arose, all well esteemed and with great deeds at arms, and said that they also wished to go on that search, for if they were obliged to great ventures, none could be more important than the loss of that knight. The King was pleased by this and asked Amadis not to leave, for he wished to speak with him.
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Chapter 59 [part 2 of 3]

2012-09-25T09:47:00.000+02:00

[How Amadis spoke with Oriana and Briolanja, and how his words to one were misunderstood by the other.]

[Reliquary bust of Saint Mabilla, made in Sienna, circa 1370-1380. In the Musée National du Moyen Age, Paris, France.]

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King Lisuarte, when he and Amadis and all the other knights had largely recovered from their wounds, left for Fernisa, where his wife, Queen Brisena, was with Briolanja, Oriana, and all the other ladies and damsels of great estate. He was received better and with more happiness than any other man at any time. And after him, Amadis, for by then the Queen and all the ladies knew that he had not only saved their lord the King from death but that the battle had been won by his great courage. And in the same way they greeted all the other knights who were still alive.

But what Queen Briolanja did with Amadis cannot be in any way written. She took him by the hand and had him sit between herself and Oriana, and told him:

“My lord, the pain and sadness I felt when they said ye were lost I cannot tell you, and I immediately took one hundred of my knights and came to this court, where I knew that your brothers were, so that your brothers could split them up in search of you. But because the battle which just happened intervened, I decided to wait here until it was over. And how that, by God’s mercy, I have what I desired, tell me what ye wish me to do and I shall begin its labors it at once.”

“My good lady,” he said, “if ye think badly of me, ye have very good reason, and ye may truly believe that no man in all the world would more willingly fulfill your orders than I. And since ye have put your estate at my will, I think it good that ye remain here for ten days and finish your business with the King, and in that time we may learn some news about my brother Sir Galaor, as well as the battle Sir Florestan has set with Landin. Then I shall take you to your kingdom, and from there I must go to Firm Island, where I have much to do.”

“So it shall be,” Queen Briolanja said, “but I beg you, my lord, to tell us about the great marvels that ye found at that island.”

He wished to avoid that, but Oriana took him by the hand and said:

“Ye shall not leave us without telling us something.”

Then Amadis said:

“Know ye, good ladies, that although I might work hard to recount it, it would be impossible to do. But I tell you that the forbidden room is more rich and beautiful than could be found anywhere else in the world, and if it is not won by one of you, I think no other lady in the world could do so.”

Briolanja, who had grown somewhat quiet, said:

“I do not believe I could succeed in that venture, but however that may be, if ye do not think me mad, I shall try it.”

“My lady,” Amadis said, “I do not hold it as madness to test that in which so many others have failed for reasons of beauty, especially since God wished to give you so much. Instead, I think it would be honorable to want to win fame that will last long without being tarnished in any way.”

What Amadis said weighed on Oriana and she looked angry, which Amadis, whose eyes had never left her, immediately understood, and he was sorry for having said it, for his intention was to give her greater honor and praise, for he knew from the visit by Grimanesa that the beauty of Briolanja would not be enough to succeed in the test, but he had no doubts about that of his lady.

But Oriana became impassioned, fearing that something in the world that could be won by beauty would be obtained by Briolanja and not by her. She remained there a while and asked Briolanja that, if she entered the defended room, to tell her how it was, and then she went to find Mabilia, took her aside, and told her everything that had happened in her presence between Briolanja and Amadis, and said:

“This always happens to me with your cousin, of whom my poor heart never thinks except to please and do his will, without regard to God or the anger of my father, and he, knowing that he has full lordship over me, holds me as so little.”

Tears came to her eyes and fell down her beautiful cheeks.

Mabilia told her:

“I am amazed by you, my lady. What heart have ye? Ye have just left one vexation and now ye wish to enter into a new one? What great error is this that ye say my cousin has done to make ye so upset, when ye know that he has never strayed from you in deed or thought, having seen with your own eyes the proof of the tests that he passed for you? Now I tell you, my lady, that ye lead me to understand that ye are not pleased to let him live, for despite what he has done for you, the least anger that he senses in you is death to him.

“And I do not know why ye are angry with him, for if Apolidon left that test there for every man and woman in general, how could Amadis be wrong, thinking that what Briolanja could do would make you less, if she could? Certainly, although ye will not be pleased by it, I think that neither her beauty nor yours will be enough to pass that test after one hundred years in which no woman, however beautiful, has succeeded. But ye wish to cruelly take his grave fate from him, which is nothing less than to be your abject servant and to abandon and disdain his estate and family for you, my lady, treating them like strangers and going wherever ye order.

“Oh, how badly employed is all he has done and his lineage and brothers, when the prize for all that is to arrive unjustly at death! And I, my lady, for all that I have waited on you and served you, in exchange I get as a prize to see the flower of my lineage die before my eyes, he who loves me so. But may it please God, this death and this trouble I shall not see, for my brother Agrajes and my uncle Galvanes shall take me to my land, for it would be a great error to serve someone who so poorly recognizes and thanks such service.”

Then she began to weep and said:

“May it please God that this cruelty to him and his lineage be repaid, although I am certain that his loss, however great it be, will not equal yours, because he has forgotten his family and only loves you above all things that are loved.”

When Mabilia said this, Oriana was so frightened that heart closed up, and she could not speak for a while. When she had become more calm, she said, weeping from her heart:

“Oh, I am the most unfortunate wretch of all the women who have ever been born! What can become of me if you think of me thus? I come for help for my great concern, having no other who can counsel me, and ye make my heart worse, suspecting what I never thought. And my misfortune is such that ye took what I told you wrongly, for I tell you that, may God not save me or help me, if my heart ever thought any of what ye said. Do no doubt that what your cousin means to me is only the complete satisfaction of my desires. But what I greatly fear is that, having won lordship of the island, if another woman passes that test before I do, the pain for me would be like death, and I feel badly for what he may have said with good intention. But whatever may have happened, I ask forgiveness from you for what I never deserved from you, and I beg for the great love that ye have for your cousin to be pardoned, and that ye counsel me on what would be best for him and for me.”

Then, laughing beautifully, she embraced her and told her:

“My true friend above all others in the world, I promise that I shall never speak of this to your cousin nor let him know that I saw this in him. But speak with him how ye see fit and I shall hold it good.”

Mabilia told her:

“My lady, I pardon you if ye agree with me that, although ye may be angry with him, ye do not show it to him unless I intervene first so that ye do not commit an error like the one that ye did in the past.”

And with that they were agreed, as those between whom there could never be any disfavor. But Mabilia, who did not forget what Amadis had said, confronted him with bitter anger and told him how wrong and hurtful it was to have said what he did to Briolanja in front of his lady, and reminded him of the danger that his life had been placed in because of her, and advised him to always have great care when he spoke with her, and to think of what trouble it was to place jealousy in the heart of a woman, and told him of the passion that his lady had felt and how she had calmed her.

Amadis, after thanking her with great courtesy, understanding what he had done, promised, if he lived, to make her a queen, and told her:

“My lady and good cousin, my thoughts were very different from what my lady suspected, because it was one of the best services that I could do for her. That was not only to advise Briolanja to try that test, but for me to go with her to wherever it would be, and it is because of this: everyone says Briolanja is one of the most beautiful women of the world, so much that without a doubt they think her beauty is enough to enter that room without a problem. I think the opposite, because I have seen Grimanesa, and Briolanja does not come close to her equal in beauty, so I am sure Briolanja would win the same honor all the rest have, yet I do not doubt that Oriana would succeed the moment she attempted it. But if she did this before Briolanja tried it, everyone would say that if Briolanja had gone first, she would have succeeded. And if Briolanja were the first, since I am sure she would fail, all the glory would then remain for my lady. This is why I dared to say what I did.”

Mabilia was very content with what Amadis said, and Oriana even more when she knew it, and was very regretful for the angry passion she had felt, remembering how at another time, for a similar accident, she had placed herself and her beloved in great danger. And to make amends for that error, they agreed that by using an old tunnel from a garden to the rooms of Oriana and Queen Briolanja, Amadis could enter to relax and speak with her. With that agreement, Amadis left Mabilia.
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Welcome back

2012-09-20T10:17:00.000+02:00

Book II continues.

“Knights” by xkcd.

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It’s good to be back after summer vacation.

Amadis of Gaul consists of four books, and between now and July 2013, the translation for Book II will be competed.

As you may recall, Book II began as Amadis won Firm Island with all its beauty and enchantments — then he received a letter from his beloved Oriana. In it, she called him a faithless liar and ordered him never to appear before her again.

Amadis retired to a solitary island and almost died of sorrow before Oriana realized her error and sent the Damsel of Denmark to rescue him. (Yes, a damsel rescued a knight in distress.) Using the name Beltenebros, he returned to Great Britain and secretly stayed with Oriana in her castle. Together, they won the magic sword and wreath of loyal lovers. As Beltenebros, he quickly earned great fame, most of all by being decisive in the battle between King Cildadan and Oriana’s father, King Lisuarte. At the height of the battle, Amadis revealed his true identity, to the terror of his opponents and the joy of Lisuarte’s other knights. After the victory, his injured brother Sir Galaor and King Cildadan were taken away by mysterious maidens.

Over the coming chapters, sorcerers will perform amazing magic. Amadis will face dire perils and win even greater honor. Then things will go horribly wrong.

If you’re new to this blog, you can find links to summaries of previous chapters in the left-hand column, along with other items of interest.

Without further ado, we shall return to the Middle Ages and this centuries-old novel full of admirable deeds outside the order of nature.
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Chapter 59 [part 1 of 3]

2012-09-11T09:37:00.000+02:00

How King Cildadan and Sir Galaor were taken away to be healed, and one was put in a strong tower surrounded by the sea, and the other in a garden with high walls adorned by iron fences, where each one became conscious and thought he was in prison, but they did not know by whom they had been brought there or what else had happened to them.

[Tower of Juan II at Segovia Castle. Photo by Katheline Vrenati-Finn.]

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Now we shall tell you what became of King Cildadan and Galaor. Know that the damsels who took them away also cared for their wounds, and on the third day they were fully conscious.

Sir Galaor found himself in a garden in a beautifully made building with four marble pillars, enclosed from one pillar to the next by strong wrought iron screens, so he could view the garden from the bed in which he was lying. From what he could manage to see, it was surrounded by a tall wall in which there was a small door covered by iron plates. He was frightened to find himself there, believing himself imprisoned, and he was in great pain from his wounds, so he expected nothing but death. Then he remembered how he had been in a battle, but he did not know who had taken him from it nor how he had been brought there.

When King Cildadan returned to full consciousness, he found himself inside a vaulted room in a large tower lying on a rich bed next to a window. He looked from one end to another, but he saw no one else, and he heard someone speaking above the ceiling, but he could see no door or entrance to the chamber where he was. He put his head out of the window to look, and he saw the sea and that he was in a tall tower built on a sharp peak, and there seemed to be sea on all three sides.

He remembered how he had been in a battle, although he did not know how he had been taken from it. But he well believed that since he was in such bad condition and was a prisoner, his men would not be free. As he saw there was nothing more he could do, he lay down in his bed, groaning and in great pain from his wounds, waiting to see what would befall him.

Sir Galaor, in the house in the garden as ye have heard, saw the small door open and raised his head with great effort. He saw a beautiful, well-dressed damsel enter, and with her a man who was so weak and old it was amazing he could walk. They came to the iron screen at the bed and they said:

“Sir Galaor, think of your soul, or we cannot save or protect you.”

Then the damsel took out two boxes, one iron and the other silver, showed them to Sir Galaor, and said:

“The man who brought you here does not wish ye to die before he learns if ye shall do his will, so he wants your wounds to be healed and ye be given food.”

“Good damsel,” he said, “if the will of whom ye speak wishes me to do what I ought not, then it would be harder for me than death, but otherwise, I ought to save my life.”

“Ye may do the best that ye can,” she said, “for what ye speak of we cannot help you. To live or die is in your hands.”

Then the old man opened the door in the screen and they entered. She took the iron box and told the old man to leave, which he did. She said to Sir Galaor:

“My lord, I am so sad for you that, to save your life, I wish to risk death. I shall tell you what my orders were. I was to fill this box with poison and the other with an unguent that will make you sleep, because the poison works best during sleep, so that when the poison would be put in your wounds and then the other for sleep, ye would die soon. But it hurt me to have such a good knight die, so I did the contrary, and here I put such medicine that if ye take it every day, in seven days ye shall be so well that ye can easily ride a horse.”

Then she put that unguent in his wounds, and it was so effective that the swelling and the pain were immediately soothed. He found himself very relieved, and he told her:

“Good damsel, I am very grateful for what ye have done for me, and if I leave here by your hand, never has the life of a knight been so well rewarded as yours shall be. But if by chance your effort is not enough and ye wish to do something for me, find a way to let Urganda the Unrecognized know that I am in this dangerous prison, for I have great hope in her.”

The damsel began to laugh out loud, and she said:

“What? Ye have such faith in Urganda, who does so little for your good or harm?”

“Yes,” he said, “for she knows the will of others, and so she knows mine is to serve her.”

“Do not be concerned about this Urganda but about me,” she said, “because, Sir Galaor, as ye made such an effort to place your health in danger, ye ought equally to try to make it well, and your great and brave heart ought to show itself in this fight as in others. I want ye to grant me a boon for the danger that I am putting myself in to heal you and to get you out of here, and it shall not be to your loss or harm.”

“I will grant it,” he said, “if I can do it rightly.”

“Then I shall leave until it is time to see each other again. Lie down and look like you are sound asleep.”

He did so, and the damsel called the old man and said:

“Look at how this knight sleeps. Soon the poison shall work in him.”

“This is necessary,” the old man said, “so that he who brought him here can be avenged. And since ye have complied with your duty, from here on ye may come without a guard. Keep him thus for two weeks, not dead and not alive except in great pain, and in that time people will come to give him his due for the offense he has done to them.”

Galaor heard all this, and it truly seemed to him that the old man was his mortal enemy. But he took hope in what the damsel had said, that he would be healed in seven days, and if fate would catch him healthy, he could free himself from danger. So he found great courage, as the damsel had counseled him.

With that, she and the old man left, but soon he saw her return with two very beautiful and well-dressed young damsels, and they brought Sir Galaor food. They opened the door and entered, and the damsel fed him and left the two little damsels with him so they could keep him company and to read him books of stories and so he would not sleep during the day. Galor was greatly consoled by that, for he observed that the damsel had kept her promise, and he thanked her sincerely. Then she left, closing the doors, and the girls remained to accompany him.

At the same time, as ye have heard, King Cildadan found himself enclosed in a tall tower surrounded by the sea, and soon, while he was deep in thought, he saw a stone door open that was inserted in the tower so closely that it seemed to be the wall itself, and he saw a middle-aged lady and two armed knights enter. They came to the bed where he was. They did not offer him a greeting, but he did, speaking to them in a friendly way, but they did not respond at all. The lady removed his blanket and studied his wounds, put medicine in them, and fed him. And then they returned to where they had come from without having said a word, and closed the door as it had been before.

Having seen this, the King thought that he was truly in prison in the power of someone who did not hold his life in safety, but he tried to be as brave as he could, for he could do nothing else.

The damsel who was caring for Galaor returned to him when it was time and asked him how he was. He said he was well, and that he thought he would be in a good state of health within the time limit she had set.

“I am pleased by that,” she said, “and do not doubt that which I told you, for it shall be fulfilled. But I want you to give me a boon as a faithful knight: do not try to leave here except by my hand, because it will be to your mortal harm and a danger to your life, and in the end you would not manage to leave.”

Galaor granted it, and begged her to tell him her name. She said:

“Why, Sir Galaor, do you not know my name? Now I tell you that I am disappointed in you, because there was a time when I did you a service, which it seems ye do not remember. And if I must remind you of my name, know that they call me Sapience over Sapience.”

She immediately left, and he thought about it. He remembered the beautiful sword that Urganda had given him when his brother Amadis made him a knight. He suspected she might be her, but he doubted that because on that occasion he had seen her quite old and now she was young, so he did not recognize her.

He looked for the two little damsels and did not see them, but in their place he saw his squire Gasaval and Amadis’s dwarf Ardian, and he was surprised and happy. They were sleeping, so he called them until they woke. When they saw him, they came weeping with pleasure to kiss his hands and tell him:

“Oh, our good lord, blessed be God who brought us here where we might serve you!”

He asked them how they had come there. They told him that they only knew that “Amadis and Agrajes and Florestan sent us with you.” Then they told him the state of his life at the end of the battle and how, when Amadis held his head in his lap, the damsels had come to ask for Galaor, and how, by agreement between the damsels and his friends, he had been given to the damsels, since he was at the point of death, and how they had put him in a ship with King Cildadan.

Sir Galaor asked them:

“How was Amadis found at such a time?”

“My lord,” they said, “know that the knight who was called Beltenebros is your brother Amadis, and by his great effort the battle was won for King Lisuarte.”

And they told him how Beltenebros had rescued the King, who was being carried off beneath the arm of a giant, and how he had then declared himself Amadis.

“Ye have told me great things,” Galaor said, “and I take pleasure in the news about my brother, although if he did not have a legitimate cause for hiding himself from me for so long, I shall be very angry with him.”

And this, as ye hear, was the state of King Cildadan and Sir Galaor, one in the tall tower and the other in the house in the garden, where their wounds were healed until they could go where they wished without danger. Then Urganda made herself known to them, in whose power they were, on her island called Unfound. She told them she had made them afraid so that they would recover their health more quickly, which was necessary because of the great peril their lives were in.

She ordered two nieces of hers to serve them and finish their care. They were very beautiful damsels, daughters of King Falangris, the late brother of King Lisuarte, by Urganda’s own sister, Grimota, when he was a young man. One of them was named Julianda, the other Solisa, and as a result of their visits they became pregnant with two sons: the one by Sir Galaor was called Tanlanque; and the one by King Cildadan called Maneli the Discrete. Both became very valiant and brave knights, as shall be told later. Galaor and Cildadan had great pleasure with these damsels while they were there until Urganda chose to release them, as ye shall hear farther on.
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Chapter 58 [final part]

2012-07-24T10:04:00.000+02:00

[How, after the battle was over, they went to search for Sir Galaor.]

[St. Joan of Arc Chapel, originally built in the Middle Ages in Casse, near Lyon, France, and now located at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.]

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They went to the place where Amadis had seen him on foot, where he had brought down King Cildadan, and there were so many dead that they could not find him. But turning them all over, Florestan found Galaor, whom they recognized by the sleeve of his tunic, which was blue with silver flowers. They began to lament deeply over him.

When Amadis saw this, he fell from his horse, and his wounds, which had stopped bleeding, were reopened by the force of the fall, and his blood flowed in abundance. He took off his helmet and shield, which were broken, and came to Galaor weeping, took off his helmet, and put his head on his lap. Galaor, with the fresh air, began to move and tremble.

Then all the rest arrived, weeping from the pain of seeing him thus. And shortly, twelve well-dressed damsels arrived with squires who carried a litter covered with fine cloth. They knelt in front of Amadis and said:

"My lord, we have come for Sir Galaor. If ye wish him to live, give him to us. If not, all the doctors in Great Britain cannot save him."

Amadis, who did not know the damsels, considered the great danger Galaor was in. He did not know what to do, but the knights advised him that it would be better to give him to fate than to watch him die in front of his eyes, unable to help him. Amadis said:

"Good damsels, could we know where ye shall take him?"

"No," they said. "For now, if ye wish him to live, give him to us immediately. If not, we must go."

Amadis begged them to take him with his brother, but they refused, and at his request they took his dwarf Ardian and his squire. Then they put Galaor still in his armor, except for his head and his hands, half-dead onto the litter. Amadis and the knights accompanied him to the sea, mourning, where they saw a ship, into which the damsels put the litter.

Then they asked King Lisuarte if he would give them King Cildadan, who lay among the dead, reminding him that he had been a good king, and, by doing what he must, fortune had brought him to great tribulation. They asked him to have mercy because if fortune could turn on Cildadan, it could happen to others. The King ordered him be given to them, more dead than alive. At once they took him in the litter and put him onto the ship. The sails were raised and it quickly left the shore.

At this point the King, having made sure that none of his enemies could escape with their fleet and ordering all those who had not died in the battle to be taken prisoner, found Amadis, Sir Florestan, Agrajes. Everyone who was with them was weeping. He knew they wept because they had lost Sir Galaor, and that put great sadness and pain in his heart, as one who loved him with his heart and soul. And that was just, for since the day Galaor had become his vassal, he had never thought of anything except to serve him.

He dismounted and, although he had many wounds and his armor was stained with blood, he embraced Amadis with the great love he had for him, and consoled him, saying that if Galaor could be cured by great affection, his would be enough to do so with the great pain he felt in his heart, but by putting their hope in the all-powerful Lord, Who would not wish such a man to be without protection, they could be comforted. And so he renewed their spirits.

He brought them to the tent of King Cildadan, which was unusually beautiful, asked for something to eat, and then ordered that the knights on their side who had died be diligently buried at a monastery at the foot of the mountain. And he ordered prayers for their souls and gave funds for building a beautiful chapel so they could be put into finely made tombs with their names inscribed on them. And he sent messengers to Queen Brisena so she would know the good fortune that God had given him. Then he and the knights, who were badly injured, went to a town four leagues away named Ganota, and there they remained until their wounds had healed.

And at the same time that the battle was fought, the beautiful Queen Briolanja, who was staying with Queen Brisena, thought to go to Miraflores to see Oriana, since both of them wished to see each other because of the fame of their beauty. When Oriana learned this, she ordered her rooms be decorated with rich fabrics.

When the Queen arrived and they saw each other, they were astounded. For Oriana, neither the Arch of the Loyal Lovers nor the test of the sword had as much power nor gave her such security as the great shock of seeing Briolanja. Any heart in the world could be captured and subjugated by her beauty, and by breaking those bonds, Oriana had won Amadis's.

And Briolanja, having sometimes seen Amadis's anguish and tears, along with the great tests of love mentioned here, had soon suspected that his worthy heart did not deserve to suffer except for she from whom all other women prized for their beauty ought to flee for the glow of hers would put theirs to pale, and excused him of any guilt for having discarded her proposals.

And so they were both pleased to be together, speaking about the things that they enjoyed the most. Among other things, Briolanja recounted the most important deeds that Amadis had done for her and how she loved him from her heart.

Oriana, to learn more, said:

"My lady and Queen, since he is so good and of such a high estate, for from what I have heard he is descended from the greatest emperors in the world and expects to be King of Gaul, why do ye not take him as yours, and make him lord of the kingdom that he won for you, since he is your peer?"

Briolanja told her:

"My friend and lady, I must believe that although ye have seen him many times, ye do not know him. Do ye not think that I would hold myself the most blessed woman in the world if I could do as ye say? But I want ye to know what happened to me about this, and to keep it a secret, as a lady such as yourself ought to. I tried to do what ye said and have him take me in marriage, which always gives me shame when I remember it. He had me understand that he cared little for me or for any other woman. And I believe this, for all the while he was with me, I never heard him speak of any woman the way all other knights do. But I tell you that he is the man most in this world to whom I would give my kingdom and would submit myself."

Oriana was very happy to hear this and more sure of her beloved than by any other test, seeing with what great affection Briolanja spoke of him. She said:

"I am surprised by what ye tell me, for if Amadis loved no woman, he could not have passed through the Arch of the Loyal Lovers, where they say he caused greater signs of loyalty and love than any other who had been there."

"He may well love," the Queen said, "but he is more secretive than any knight has ever been."

About this and many other things they spoke, and they were there for ten days, and after that they went together with their companions to the town of Fernisa, where the Queen was awaiting her husband the King. She was very pleased to see her daughter healthy and returned to her beauty. And there they learned the good news of the victory in the battle, and because of the great pleasure that it gave them, Queen Brisena made many donations to churches and monasteries and to people in need.

But when Queen Briolanja heard it said that Amadis was the one who had been called Beltenebros, who could describe the joy her spirit felt? And so Queen Briolanja was happy, as were all the ladies and damsels who loved him greatly, and with them, Oriana and Mabilia, who pretended that this was news to them the same as to the others.

Briolanja said to Oriana:

"How does it seem to you, my friend, that he is the good knight who until now was praised, leaving the fame of Amadis so forgotten that almost no one remembered him? Although I greatly loved him and knew about his deeds at arms, I had begun to wonder, in light of the great deeds of Beltenebros, in which of the two should I put my affection now."

"My lady and Queen," Oriana said, "I understand that we are all in that situation, and if he comes with my father the King, let us ask him why he changed his name and who the woman is who won the wreath of flowers."

"So be it," said Briolanja.
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