Book III, ch. 7 (Johnes, v. 2, p. 87-90). While this was relating, we crossed the pass of Larre, and leaving the castle of Marteras, where the battle was fought, passed very near the castle of Barbasan, which is handsome and strong, a league distant from Tarbes. We saw it before us, and had a good road, easy to be travelled, following the course of the river Leschez, which rises in the mountains. We rode at our leisure, not to fatigue our horses; and he pointed out to me, on the other side of the river, the castle and town of Montgaillard, and the road which goes straight to Lourde. It then came into my mind to ask the knight about the duke of Anjou, when the castle of Malvoisin had surrendered to him, and how he had acted on his march to Lourde. He very cheerfully told me as follows:
"When the duke of Anjon marched his army from before Malvoisin, he crossed the river Leschez by the bridge of Tournay, and lodged at Bagn~res, (where there is a handsome river which runs by Tarbes: for that of Tournay takes a different course, and falls into the Garonne, below Moutmillion) in his way to lay siege to Lourde. Sir Peter Arnaut de B~am, with his brother John, Peter d'Anchin, Ernauton de Restin, Ernauton de Sainte Colombe, and le Meugeant, who was then alive, Ferdinand de Miranda, Oliver Barhe, le bourg de Cornillac, le bourg Camus, and the other companions within Lourde, had good information of his arrival, and had much strengthened the place, in all respects, against his coming. Lourde held out, in spite of all the attacks they could make on it, for sixteen days consecutively. Many gallant deeds were done, and much mischief to the town by the machines which the duke brought to bear against it, so that at length it was conquered; but the garrison suffered nothing, nor lost man, woman, nor child, for they had all retreated to the castle, as they knew well the town could not always hold out, being only fortified with palisadoes.
The knight was a man of honour, and excused
himself by saying, 'the garrison was not his; and that he could neither
sell, give, nor alienate the inheritance of the king of England, unless
he were a traitor, which he scorned to be, and would remain loyal to his
natural lord. When the fort was intrusted to him, it was on condition that
he swore solemnly on his faith, in the hands of the prince of Wales, to
guard and defend the castle of Lourde until death, against every man whatever,
unless he were sent to him from the king of England.' No other answer could
be had from him, in reply to all the offers and promises they made; so
that, when the duke and his council saw they could not gain anything, they
broke up the siege of the castle of Lourde; but, on their decamping, they
burnt the town to the guound.
"The duke retreated with his army along
the frontiers of B~arn towards Montmarsen: he had heard that the count
de Foix had reinforced all his garrisons with men at arms. This did not
displease him so much as that the B~arn men should bold out Lourde against
him; but he could never obtain anything satisfactory on this head.
"The count de Foix, as I have mentioned
before, was very suspicious of the intentions of the duke, who did him
no harm, though the count d'A.rmagnac and the lord d'Albreth wished him
to act otherwise; but he was not so inclined. While he was encamped between
Montmarsen and the high lands ot Albreth, he sent sir Peter de Benil to
Orth~s, where on his arrival he was handsomely received by the count de
Foix and lodged in the castle. He entertained him splendidly, and presented
him with fine horses and mules, and to his people gave other gifts: he
sent by him to the duke of Anjou four beautiful horses and two Spanish
greyhounds, so handsome and good there were none like them. Some secret
negociations passed between the count and sir Peter de Beuil, of which
we knew nothing for a long time; but, from circumstances which shortly
happened, we suspected what I will now tell you, and by that time we shall
arrive at Tarbes.
"Soon after the duke of Anjou had ended
his expedition and was returned to Toulouse, the count de Foix sent letters
by a trusty messenger to his cousin sir Peter Arnaut de Béarn at
Lourde, for him to come to Orth~s. The knight on receiving these letters
and noticing the bear~r, who was a man of high rank, became very thoughtful
and doubtful whether to go or not: however, on full ~onsideration, he said
he would go, for he was unwilling to offend the count do Foix.
"When on the point of departure, he called
his brother, John do J3~arn, and said to him, in presence of the garrison:
'My lord, the count de Foix has sent for me; on what account I know not,
but since he is desirous I should come to him, I will go. I suspect very
much that I shall he required to surrender this castle; for the duke of
Anjou has marched along the frontiers of his country without entering it,
and the count de Foix has long wished for the castle of Malvoisin, in order
to be master of Lane-bourg and the frontiers of Bigorre and Comminges.
I am ignorant if any treaties have been made between him and the duke of
Anjou; but I declare, that as long as I live, I will never surrender the
castle of Lourde but to my natural lord the king of England. I therefore
order you, brother John, should I appoint you to the command of it, that
you swear to me, upon your faith and gentility, you will hold it in the
same manner as I do, and that you will never fail in so doing for life
or death.'
John took the oath as his brother required,
who then set out for Orth~s, where on his arrival he dismounted at the
hotel of the Moon.
"When he thought it was decent time to
wait on the count, he went to him at the castle, who received him most
amicably, made him sit at his table, and showed him every mark of attention.
Dinner being over, the count said, 'Peter, I have many things to talk with
you upon: therefore, you must not go away without my leave.'
"The knight answered, 'My iord, I will
cheerfully stay until I have your permission to depart.' The third day
the count addressed him, in the presence of the viscount de Gousserant,
his brother, the lord d'Anchin in Bigorre, and several knights and squires,
and so loud that all heard him:
"'Peter, I have sent for you, to acquaint
you, that my lord of Anjou is very angry with me on account of the garrison
of Lourde which you command. Through the good offices of some friends I
have in his army, my territories have narrowly escaped being overrun; and
it is his opinion, and others in his company who hate me, that I support
you, because you are of B~arn. Now I do not wish to incur the anger of
so powerful a prince as the duke of Anjon: I therefore command you, under
pain of my displeasure, and by the faith and homage you owe me, to give
up the castle of Lourde to me.'
"The knight was thunderstruck on hearing
this speech, and thought awhile what answer to make: for he perceived the
count had spoken in a determined manner. Having fully considered, he said,
'My lord, in truth I owe you faith and homage, for I am a poor knight of
your blood and country; but, as for the castle of Lourde, I will never
surrender it to you. You have sent for me, and you may therefore do with
me as you please. I hold the castle of Lourde from the king of England,
who has placed me there; and to no other person but to him will I ever
surrender it.'
"The count do Foix, on hearing this answer,
was exceedingly wroth, and said, as he drew his dagger, 'Ho, ho! dost thou
then say no? By this head, thou hast not said it for nothing.' And, as
he uttered these words, he struck him foully with the dagger, so that he
wounded him severely in five places, and none of the barons or knights
dared to interfere.
The knight replied, 'Ha, ha, my lord, this
is not gentle treatment: you have sent, for me hither, and are murdering
me.' Having received these five strokes from the dagger, the count ordered
him to be cast into the dungeon, which was done; aisd there he died, for
he was ill cured of his wounds."
"Ha, holy Mary," said I to the knight,
"was not this a great act of cruelty?"
"Whatever it was," replied he, "so it happened,
and ill betide him who angers the count, for then he pardons none. He kept
his cousin-german the viscount de Chdteaubon, even though he is his heir,
eight months prisoner in the tower of the castle of Orth~s, and then ransomed
him for forty thousand francs."
"What, sir," said I, "has not the count
de Foix any children ?"
"Eh, in God's name, not in lawful marriage;
but he has two young knights, bastards, sir Jenuain and sir Gracien, whom
you will see, and whom he loves as well as himself."
"And was he never married?"
"Yes, and is so still, but madame de Foix
does not live with him."
"Where does she reside?" "She lives in
Navarre, for the king of Navarre is her brother: she was daughter of king
Louis of Navarre."
"The count de Foix, had he never any children
by her?"
"Yes; a very fine son, who was the delight
of his father and of the country: through him the country of B~arn, which
is in dispute. would have been settled, for his wife was sister to the
count d'Armagnac."
"And pray, sir, may I ask what became of
this son?"
"Yes," replied he; "but the story is too
long at present, for we are, as you see, arrived at the town."
At these words I left the knight quiet;
and we soon after entered Tarbes, where we were very comfortable at the
hotel of the Star. We remained there the whole of that day, for it was
a commodious place, to refresh ourselves and horses, having good hay, good
oats, and a handsome river.
The
tales of Espaign du Lyon continue.
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