Chapter 109 [part 1 of 2]

How the Emperor of Rome and King Lisuarte marched with all their soldiers toward Firm Island to seek their enemies. 

[The English army marching under the banner of St. George in the Hundred Years' War, late 14th century, from Chroniques de France ou de St. Denis, at the British Library.]
 
+ 
 
This story tells how the Emperor of Rome and King Lisuarte left the encampment at Windsor in the columns we have told you about, and they agreed to travel very slowly so the men and horses would stay fresh. That day they only went three leagues and set up the camp near a forest in a great field and rested there that night. The next day at dawn they left in their columns, as we have told you, and they continued on their way until they learned from some people in those lands that King Perion and his army were coming toward them, and they were two days’ travel from where they were.

Immediately King Lisuarte ordered that Lasadin the Fencer, as he was called, first cousin of Sir Guilan, be provided with fifty knights to go scouting the land and to remain three leagues ahead of the army. On the third day they encountered King Perion’s guard, who had provided Enil with forty nights. Both groups of scouts stopped there, and each one notified its side, and they did not dare to fight because they had been ordered not to.

The armies came close to each other in a large and very flat field, so close that there was no more space between them than half a league. Those armies included many knights with great knowledge of war, so neither side could gain very much advantage. And it seemed almost by mutual agreement by the men on both sides that they fortified their encampments with many trenches and other defenses where they could take refuge if things went badly.

And as the armies were configured, as ye hear, Gandalin arrived, Amadis’s squire, who had brought Melicia from Gaul to Firm Island. He was very anxious to arrive before the battle began, and the reason is this:

Ye already know that Gandalin was the son of the noble knight Sir Gandales, who had raised Amadis, and was his milk brother. From the day that Amadis became a knight, calling himself Childe of the Sea, he knew that he was not his brother, for up until then they had thought they were. And from that hour Gandalin had always attended him as his squire, and although he had often urged Amadis to make him a knight, Amadis had not dared to do so, because Gandalin had been his best confidant in his love affair. Gandalin had often saved him from death, for given the anguish and mortal desires he suffered for his lady Oriana and the continued torment and affliction of his heart, if in Gandalin he had not found the consolation he always did, he would have died a thousand times. Because this was a secret from everyone and he could talk to no one else about it, if by some means Gandalin were to have been separated from him, it would have been like nothing else but being separated from life.

He knew that if he made him a knight they could not be together because Gandalin would immediately need to go to seek adventure and win honor, which he was rightly obliged to do, as this great story has told, both for his father, who had raised him and taken Amadis from the sea, and for Amadis himself, who had been better served by him than any knight had ever been served by a squire, so he did not dare let him depart.

And as Gandalin knew this, for he was very sensible, and with the excessive love he had for him, although he very much desired to be a knight to show that the noble Sir Gandales had such a son and had raised such a man, he did not dare insist very much for he saw how necessary he was. But now that he knew Amadis had his lady Oriana in his power and neither by his will nor by force would he let her be taken from him without losing his life, Gandalin decided that very rightly he could asked to be made a knight, especially for such a grand and outstanding thing as that battle would be.

With this thought, after he had delivered the greetings from Amadis’ mother the Queen and told him about the arrival of his sister Melicia and the pleasure that Oriana and Mabilia and all the other ladies had taken with her, and how it was the most beautiful thing in the world to see Oriana and Queen Briolanja and Melicia together, and also how his brother Sir Galaor was somewhat better and the greetings he had sent, one day he took him where no one could hear him in that field, and told him:

“My lord, ye know the reason for which I have ceased to ask you with the urgency and will that I ought for you to make me a knight so I could honorably fulfill the great debt that I owe to my father and my lineage. I have always had the desire to serve you, and I know the need ye have always had of my service, and that has given rise to the fact that although until now my honor has been diminished, I have always hoped to aid your honor instead of my own as I ought. Now this can be set aside because I see in your power she who so much anguish gave you, and not by myself and even less by others any honorable excuse can be found for my failing to follow the order of knighthood. For that reason I beg you, my lord, to be pleased to grant me that favor because ye know how much dishonor I would receive for not being a knight from here on. In any matter and any place I may be, I will be yours to serve you with the love and goodwill that ye have always known from me.”

When Amadis heard this, he was so upset that for a while he could not speak, and he told him:

“Oh my true friend and brother, how hard it is for me to comply with what thou askest. Certainly, I would not feel it less if my heart were torn from my flesh, and if in some proper manner I could avoid this, with all my strength I would. But I see thy petition is so just that in no way can it be denied, and following more my obligation to thee than what my will desires, I agree that what thou askest shall be done. I only regret I had not known it earlier, so thy honor could be fulfilled with the arms and horse suitable to thy wishes.”

 Gandalin knelt to kiss his hands, but Amadis lifted him up and embraced him, and tears came to his eyes because of the great love he had for him, and because he could already imagine his great loneliness and sorrow not to have him with him. Gandalin told him:

“My lord, do not worry about this, for Sir Galaor, in his kindness and discretion, when I told him that I wished to be a knight, ordered me given his horse and all his armor, since they did him little good in his illness. I took it as a boon and I told him I would take the horse because it was very good, and the chain mail and the helmet, but the other armor should be white, has would befit a new knight. He wanted to give me his sword, but, my lord, I told him that ye would give me one of the swords that Queen Menoresa had given you in Greece. And while I was there I had all the other armor I needed made with their surcoat, and I have it all here.”

“Since this is so,” Amadis said, “so it shall be, and the night before the battle thou shalt hold vigil over your armor in the chapel in my father the King’s tent, and the next day thou shalt ride armed on thy horse. And when the battle is about to break out against our enemies, the King shall make thee a knight, for thou knowest that in all the world no better man could be found, nor from whom thou wouldst receive more honor in this act.”

Gandalin told him:

“My lord, everything ye say is true, and it would be hard to find another knight like the King, but I shall not be made a knight except by your hand.”

“If thou wishest it so,” Amadis said, “so it shall be. And do what I tell thee.”

“Everything shall be done as ye order,” he said, “for Lasindo, the Squire of Sir Bruneo, told me when I arrived that he had already been granted permission from his lord to be made a knight. He and I shall do our vigil over our armor together. And may God in His mercy guide me to fulfill the things in His service and in my honor as the order of knighthood requires, and that the training that I have received from you be made apparent.”

Amadis did not tell him anything more because he felt great anguish at what he had heard and even more to think of how he would feel when it was carried out. And so Amadis went to where his father the King was having the camp fortified and arranging the necessities for battle, as his enemies were also doing. The armies spent two days there, and they never ceased to prepare all the men, each one according to his duty, to be very ready for the battle.

In the afternoon of the second day, King Arabigo’s spies reached the heights of the nearby mountains and tried not to reveal themselves because that was their orders. They saw the encampments as close to each other as we have said, and immediately they made that known to King Arabigo. He and all his knights agreed that the lookouts should return to where they could see everything that was happening, and that the army should remain hidden as much as it could and in a place where if troops were to come seeking them, they need not fear them because they could reach their ships over the mountains if they were in such straits that they had to. And if the two armies fought, they could leave there unsuspected and safely fall upon those whom they wished.

And so they positioned themselves in a place very rugged and strong, and they controlled and fortified the roads and passes of the mountain so they were as safe as if they were in a fortress. And there they awaited the warnings of their lookouts.

But they could not hide themselves so well that before they had arrived there, King Lisuarte had been advised about how they had disembarked in his lands and about the troops who were coming. For that reason he ordered that all supplies of food and cattle be withdrawn along with everything else from that territory, and that the people in the towns and unprotected areas should take refuge in cities and towns and keep watch and protect themselves and not leave until the battle was over. And he placed some of his knights in those cities and towns, which he dearly needed for what was about to take place, but he did not know more about what was happening or where Arcalaus’ men had gone.

King Perion also learned about those troops and distrusted them, but he did not know where they were. Thus both sides were afraid of them.

So, things being as they were, as ye hear, three days after the camps had been set up, Emperor Patin was very impatient for the battle to begin, for whether defeated or victorious he could not wait for the chance to return to his land, as often happens with fickle men who do things hastily and just as hastily are bored, as this man did in his caprice.

Amadis, Agrajes, and Sir Cuadragante and all the other knights also complained frequently to King Perion about their desire to do battle so that God might judge the truth. Although the King did not wish for it less than any of the others, he waited until everything had been prepared. Then he immediately sent orders to everyone that at dawn they should hear Mass and arm themselves, and each man should report to his captain because the battle would then begin. And the same was immediately done by their opponents as soon as they learned of it.

When dawn came, the trumpets were sounded, and they could so clearly hear each other it was as if they were together. The men began to arm themselves and saddle their horses, to go to the tents to hear Mass, and everyone mounted and went to their flags.

Who could be of such strength in memory that if he had seen it and had placed his whole mind to it, he could recount or write about the armor and the horses with their insignia and the knights that were together there? Certainly, the man who believed he could know all that and hold it in his thoughts would be very mad. Because of that, leaving aside generalities, something of the details shall be told here, and we will commence with the Emperor of Rome, who was brave of body and strong, and an exceedingly fine knight if his great arrogance and limited discretion had not diminished him.

He armed himself in black armor, his helmet as well as his shield and surcoat, except that on his shield he bore the figure of a damsel from the waist up resembling Oriana made of finely worked gold and decorated with many precious stones and pearls, attached to the shield with golden rivets, and upon his black visor were some very finely woven chains, which he took as an insignia and swore he would never abandon until he held Amadis prisoner in chains along with all those who had taken Oriana from him. He mounted a large, handsome horse and took his lance in his hand. And so he left the camp and went to where it had been agreed that his troops would assemble.

Immediately behind him came Floyan, Prince Salustanquidio’s brother, wearing black and yellow quartered armor with no other decoration, and yet he seemed very striking and outstanding among his men. Behind him came Arquisil, who wore blue and white armor with silver down the middle, all strewn with golden roses, so he was very noticeable.

King Lisuarte wore black armor with white eagles on it, and an eagle on his shield without any other decoration, which in the end turned out to have great worth, given what its owner did in that battle. King Cildadan wore completely black armor, for after he was defeated in the battle of one hundred against one hundred that he had fought against King Lisuarte, where he became his tributary, he never wore any other. Of Gasquilan, King of Suesa, nothing shall be told of his armor until the proper time, as ye shall hear farther on.

King Arban of North Wales, Sir Guilan the Pensive, and Sir Grumedan wished to wear armor that was more serviceable than showy to demonstrate their sadness at seeing their lord the King in such a serious confrontation with those who had once been in his court and his service, and who had brought him such honor.

+

Chapter 108

How, when Arcalaus the Sorcerer knew the armies were preparing to fight, as fast as possible he sent for King Arabigo and his men. 

[Fourteenth-century illustration of the third Battle of Homs, 1299, in Fleur des Histoires d'Orient by Hayton of Corycus.]
 
+ 
 
Arcalaus the Sorcerer had alerted King Arabigo and Barsinan, lord of Sansuena, and the King of Deep Island, who had escaped from the Battle of the Seven Kings, and all the relatives of Dardan the Arrogant. And when he learned that troops were joining the men of King Lisuarte and Amadis, he hastily sent a knight from his family named Garin, son of Grumen, whom Amadis had killed when Grumen, three other knights, and Arcalaus the Sorcerer kidnaped Oriana, as the first book of this story recounts. And he ordered Garin not to rest day or night until he had notified all those kings and knights and told them to come in a hurry. He remained in his castles calling on his friends and members of Dardan’s lineage, gathering as many men as he could.

Garin reached King Arabigo, finding him in his great city named Arabiga, the capital of his entire kingdom, which from its name all the kings there called themselves Arabigo because their reign included a great part of the land of Arabia. He told him everything Arcalaus wanted him to know, and all the others who had their men on alert, and when they learned this news, immediately and without delay they called up the troops, and they all came, one after another, and they met near a very fine town in the domain of Sansuena named Califan. They set up their tents in the fields and numbered almost 12,000 knights. And there they brought together all their fleet, which was astonishingly big and with fine sailors, and loaded it with all of the provisions that they could get, for they were going to a foreign kingdom. And with great pleasure and favorable weather they went out to sea and in eight days arrived at a port in Great Britain in a place where Arcalaus had a mighty castle with the seaport.

Arcalaus had with him 600 very fine knights, most of them fugitives who despised King Lisuarte and Amadis because they had pursued and killed many of their relatives who were wrongdoers.

When that fleet arrived at port, it cannot be told to you the great pleasure that they had with each other, and as they knew from Arcalaus’s spies that the armies of King Lisuarte and Amadis were already marching toward each other, and the roads they were taking, they immediately moved out with all their men. In the lead was Barsinan, a young and hardy knight very eager to avenge the deaths of his father and his brother Gandalot and show the burning strength of his heart, with 2,000 knights and some archers and crossbow men.

Arcalaus led the second column, and ye may believe that in courage and valor he was no less than Barsinan; indeed, although he had lost half his right hand, a better or more valiant knight at arms than him would be hard to find in many lands, except that his dark arts and lies erased all the praise that his courage had won. He led 600 knights, and King Arabigo gave him 2,400 of his men.

The third column was taken by King Arabigo and by the King of Deep Island with all the remaining men, and they brought with them six knights from the family of Brontaxar d’Anfania, whom Amadis had killed in the Battle of the Seven Kings when he wore a golden helmet, as the third book of the story recounts. Brontaxar d’Anfania had been as valiant as his body was strong, and the seven Kings had hoped to win with his help, and truly, they would have if Amadis had not seen the great damage Brontaxar was doing to King Lisuarte’s men, which, if the battle would have lasted long, would have been enough to give the honor of victory to the side of the seven Kings. So Amadis went for him and with a single blow cut him down, and he fell to the ground, where he died.

The six knights of whom I am speaking came from Centaur Island, where it is said that the centaurs had their first home, and they were as grand in body and strength as them, for they were the direct descendants of the greatest and bravest giants that the world ever had. When they learned that this great battle was being arranged, they wished to be in it so they could avenge Brontaxar’s death, who was the foremost man of their lineage, and to test themselves against those knights whose great fame they had heard of. And for this reason they came to King Arabigo, who was very pleased with them and urged them to join his battalion, which they did against their will because they would have preferred to be sent to the vanguard.

And in the meantime there arrived the Duke of Bristol, who, although he had been summoned by Arcalaus, had not ventured to show himself, believing that what Arcalaus had told him was of slight importance, but when he saw how many men had come together there, he considered it to his advantage to join them because he might be able to avenge the death of his father, who was killed by Sir Galvanes and Agrajes with Olivas, as the first book of the story recounts, and to recover the land that King Lisuarte had taken from him, claiming that his father had died as a traitor. He believed that if the battle went badly for King Lisuarte, he would be able to get his land restored, and if it went badly for Amadis, he could take revenge on those who had done him so much harm.

And when he arrived and King Arabigo and all the other lords saw him and were told who he was, they were very pleased with him, and his arrival gave them courage because they considered him and the men he brought more important, because he was a native of those lands and had some towns and castles in it, than someone who was a foreigner but who brought many more men. The Duke and his men and 500 knights that King Arabigo gave him were made reserve troops.

And with the army arranged in columns as ye hear, they left down a side road, setting the best guards they could, and agreeing to locate themselves in a place where they would be safe and from which they could attack when it was time to strike their enemies.

+

Chapter 107

How King Perion moved his men out of the camp to march toward their enemies, and how he arranged the columns for battle. 

[Sculpture of a king from the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris, 1250-1258, damaged and broken off the building in 1793. Now in the Cluny Museum.]
 
+ 
 
The story tells how King Perion, as he was a very wise knight of great valor whom fortune had always exalted by protecting and defending his honor, found himself in an extraordinary confrontation in which he himself and his sons and all the rest of his lineage had been placed. He knew King Lisuarte would strive to avenge his injuries, but from what he knew of the Emperor and his troops, he esteemed them as nothing. King Perion never ceased to think about what needed to be done because he believed that if fortune went against them, King Lisuarte, like a rabid dog, would not be content with the initial victory and instead, with great diligence and rigor and with no concern over the effort, would seek them out wherever they went, as was his plan if he won.

In addition to other necessary provisions, Perion always kept people in places where they would know what his enemies were doing so he would be immediately advised if troops were coming for them and in what formation.

So when he knew the enemy was on the march, early the next morning he got up and ordered all the captains and knights of high lineage to be called, and he told them the news and that he believed it was time to break camp; and once the men were assembled in the fields, they should be split into columns so that each one would know which captain and flag he should follow; and then they should move out against their enemies with great courage and expectation to defeat them, for their cause was just.

They all held that as good, and they beseeched him, due to his royal dignity and his great courage and discretion, to take it upon himself to direct and command them, and they would all obey. He agreed because he recognized that what they asked for was reasonable and he could not properly refuse. Then he ordered everything to be put underway: the camp was broken, and the men, fully armed and on horseback, assembled in a great meadow. The noble King stationed himself in the middle of it all on a very handsome and large horse, armed with fine weapons and with three squires to carry them, along with ten pages in uniform on ten horses who would ride through the battle and come to the aid of knights who needed horses.

And as he was now of such an age that most of his hair and beard was white, and his face was lit with the heat of his armor and the burning of his heart, and as they all knew of his great courage, he seemed so handsome and he gave such strength to the men looking at him that he made them lose all their terror, and they believed that, after God, his leadership would be the reason for winning glory in the battle.

He looked at Sir Cuadragante and told him:

“Brave knight, I place you in charge of the right flank. And thou, my son Amadis, with Angriote d’Estravaus, Sir Gavarte of the Fearful Valley, Enis, Balais of Carsante, and Landin accompany him, along with the 500 knights from Ireland and the 1,500 that I brought. And ye, my good nephew Agrajes, take the second column with Sir Bruneo of Bonamar and his brother Branfil with their men along with yours, which makes 1,600 knights. And ye, honorable knight Grasandor, take the third column accompanied by thou, my son Sir Florestan, and Dragonis, Landin of Fajarque, and Elian the Brave, with the troops of Grasandor’s father the King, and with Trion and Queen Briolanja’s men, which will make 2,700 knights.”

And he said to Brian of Monjaste:

“And ye, my nephew and honorable knight, take the fourth column with your men, and with 3,000 of the knights from the Emperor of Constantinople, and so ye will have 5,000 knights. And with you will go Mancian of the Silver Bridge, Sadamon, and Urlandin, son of the count of Urlanda.”

And he ordered Sir Gandales to take 1,000 of his knights and to aid in the major melees. And the King took with him Gastiles and the remaining men of the Emperor, and put them beneath the Emperor’s flag, and asked everyone to regard it as if the Emperor himself were there in person.

When they were all arranged in columns as ye have heard, they moved out in order over that field playing many trumpets and other instruments of war. Oriana and the Queens, princesses, ladies, and damsels watched them, praying from their hearts for God to help them, and if it was His will, to bring them peace.

But now the story will cease to speak of them, as they go to meet their enemy as ye hear, and it shall turn to Arcalaus the Sorcerer.

+

Chapter 106 [part 2 of 2]

[What Arquisil asked of Amadis, and what this would mean.] 

[From an illustration of Cantiga 181 of the Cantigas de Santa Maria of King Alfonso X.]
 
+ 

And so it was that, when the valiant Amadis and many other great lords and brave knights were in King Perion’s tent, Arquisil was among them and still had not been told where he would be held prisoner. He stood up and told the King:

“My lord, may Your Grace hear me speak with Amadis of Gaul in the presence of these knights.”

The King told him he would gladly hear whatever he thought it good to say. Arquisil recounted everything that had happened in the battle that Sir Garadan and he and his other companions had fought against Amadis and the knights of the King of Bohemia, and how they were defeated and injured and Sir Garadan was killed, and how Amadis with his restraint saved him from the hands of those who with great desire and intention meant to kill him, and how at his plea and petition he was released and allowed to leave so he could give some aid to his companions who were very badly injured, leaving as a pledge his faith and word as his prisoner to come to him whenever he was summoned, as the third part of this story has told more extensively, and how now he was called by Amadis, and he had come as they all had seen to fulfill his word and be wherever he was ordered and directed to go.

But if Amadis, making use of generosity and great restraint and virtue, as was his custom for all those in need of his grace and aid, were to give him permission so that in that coming battle, so prominent in the world, he could serve his lord the Emperor as he ought, he would promise as a loyal and good knight before Amadis and all those present that if afterwards he were alive, he would go where he was ordered to fulfill his imprisonment.

Amadis, who at that time was also standing to give him honor, answered:

“Arquisil, my noble lord, if I were to pay heed to the arrogant and overblown words of your lord the Emperor, I would treat everyone connected with him with great rigor and cruelty without fearing that I would fall into excess. But ye are without fault, and the times have brought us to such a situation where every man’s virtue will be shown to us, so I hold it well that ye have come when ye were asked for, and I give you license to be in that battle, from which, if ye leave without danger, ye must be at this island within ten days to comply with what shall be ordered by myself or by others on my behalf.”

 Arquisil thanked him for that very much, and he promised to do so.

Some shall ask why so much has been made of a knight of so little renown in such a great story. I say the reason is this: because this man dealt with every confrontation that came to him with great courage, as further on ye shall hear, and because, due to his great lineage and noble condition, he came to be Emperor of Rome, and he always held Amadis, who was the main reason that he had reached such a great sovereignty, as a true brother, as at the appropriate time shall be told at greater length.

Then when those lords had left and gone to their tents and quarters, Arquisil put on his armor, mounted his horse, bid farewell to Amadis and all those who were with him, and he returned on the road on which he had come. And the story does not tell of anything happening to him except that he arrived at the Emperor’s army, where everyone was very pleased to see him again. And although they asked him about many things, he only wished to speak of the great courtesy that he had received from the very noble knight Amadis, of whom ye may well believe that his courtesy was such and so great that it would be hard to find the like in any knight at that time.

And I wish ye to know the reason why those knights took such long journeys without encountering adventure as in times past, and it was because they all thought of nothing else except to provide and prepare all things necessary for the battle, for it seemed to them, given the grandeur of that confrontation, to become involved in other quests that might interfere would result in infamy.

When Arquisil arrived at the encampment, he spoke privately with the Emperor and told him the truth about everything, both about his opponents’ large number of men and about the outstanding knights with him, of whom he recounted by name almost all, and how Amadis of Gaul had given him permission to fight in that battle and was not very troubled by it. Arquisil said he had learned that Amadis, knowing that the Emperor would be coming there with his army, soon planned to march toward it without fear; Arquisil advised him of all that because by doing so he best fulfilled his service.

The Emperor listened to this, although he was very arrogant and changeable, as ye have heard, and he was also sure of himself in everything that he did, but he knew the virtue of that knight, for whom he had not much love, and that Arquisil had told him nothing but the truth. And when he heard it, he was dismayed as those who employ their valor more in words than in deed tend to be. The Emperor no longer wished to be involved in that affair, for he fully understood the great difference between one side and the other, and he had never thought that given his great strength along with that of King Lisuarte, Amadis would have the ability or preparations to leave Firm Island; instead the Emperor and King could lay siege by land and sea so that either through hunger or some other means Patin could take back Oriana and avenge the harm and injury that had been done to his honor.

And from there on, showing more courage then he secretly felt, he made sure to concur with the will of King Lisuarte and all his noblemen.

So they were encamped for two weeks reviewing the troops and receiving the knights that came to them every day, and they found that they had all the following: the Emperor brought 10,000 knights; King Lisuarte 6,500; Gasquilan, King of Suesa, 800; and King Cildadan, 200.

Everything having been prepared, the Emperor and the Kings gave orders to break camp and for the men to wait in the great meadow from which they would march. And so it was done, and they were all placed in their battalions. The Emperor put his men into three columns. The first he gave to Floyan, brother of Prince Salustanquidio, with 2,500 knights. He gave the second to Arquisil with an equal number, and he was left with 5,000 to follow them. And he asked King Lisuarte to approve of his men taking the vanguard, which he did, although Lisuarte would rather have done that himself, because he did not consider those men highly, and he was afraid their lack of discipline might cause some great reversal. But he agreed to give him that honor, which in such cases is looked upon badly because all affection should be laid aside to follow where reason guides.

King Lisuarte put his men into columns. In one with King Arban of North Wales he put 3,000 knights, and with him were his son Norandel, Sir Guilan the Pensive, Sir Cendil of Ganota, and Brandoivas. And from his men he gave 1,000 knights to King Cildadan and Gasquilan, and with another 1,000 made another column. And of those knights with him, he gave his standard to the worthy Sir Grumedan, who had great sorrow and anguish in his heart over the poor decision the King Lisuarte had made by allowing troops he considered unworthy to take the lead.

When this was done in the columns had been formed, they moved across the field behind the supply wagons which with its billeters was going to set up the next camp.

What could I tell ye of the knights and fine shining armor of such variety that they wore? Truly, it would be very laborious to recount. It will only be spoken of what the Emperor and the Kings and other outstanding knights wore, and this shall be told on the day of the battle when they armed themselves for it. Now we shall not speak of that until its proper time, and now it must be told what King Perion and the lords with him did in the encampment on Firm Island.

+