Chapter 55 [final part]

[Which tells how Beltenebros challenged the giants Basagante and Famongomadan.] 

[A helmet on display at Prague Castle. Photo by Sue Burke.]
  
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Beltenebros took his arms from Enil, who was sobbing, and rode down the hillside toward the giant. But before he arrived, he looked toward Miraflores and said:

"Oh, my lady Oriana, wherever I have been, I have never begun a great deed with my own strength, but with yours. Now, my good lady, help me, for I shall need it dearly."

With that it seemed to him that great strength came over him and made him lose all fear. He told the dwarfs to halt. When the giant heard this, he turned toward him with such rage that smoke came out of the visor of his helmet, and he shook the spear in his hands so that it bent double, and he said:

"Luckless wretch, who gave thee such courage that ye dare to appear before me?"

"The Lord Whom thou hast offended," Beltenebros said, "and Who will give me the strength today to break thy great arrogance."

"Then come, come," said the giant, "and ye shall see if your strength is enough to protect you from mine."

Beltenebros held the lance tightly under his arm and charged as fast as his horse could gallop, and he struck the strong plate armor beneath the giant's belt so hard that the force broke the plates, and the lance entered the giant's belly and came out the other side. The blow was so strong that the lance struck the back of the saddle and broke the girths, so that the saddle turned with the giant on it underneath his horse, and the giant had a piece of the lance stuck in his body. But before he fell, he threw the spear, and it struck the hindquarters of his horse and came out between its legs.

Beltenebros left the encounter as fast as he could and put his hand on his sword, but the giant was fatally injured, and the horse dragged him along beneath it, to his great injury. But with his strength, the giant quickly got out, removed the piece of lance and threw it at Beltenebros and hit him on the helmet and shield with such a blow that it almost knocked him to the earth. But with the force that the giant had used to throw it, the rest of his entrails came out of his wound, and he fell to the ground shouting:

"Help me, my son Basagante, and come quickly, for I am dead!"

With these shouts, Basagante arrived as fast as his horse could run, and he brought a heavy steel axe. He came at Beltenebros to strike him and chop him in two, but Beltenebros, with his great valor, protected himself from the blow with his shield. As he passed, he tried to injure the giant's horse but could not, and reached out with the point of his sword and cut the stirrup strap and part of the giant's leg.

The giant, in his great anger, did not feel it, although he felt that he had lost the stirrup, and turned toward him. Beltenebros took the shield from his neck and held it by the arm straps. The giant struck a great blow on it with his axe and knocked it to the earth, and Beltenebros struck him on the arm with his sword and cut plate armor and flesh, and the sword went under the fine steel plates and broke so that all that remained for Beltenebros was the hilt.

But this did not make him faint or lose his great heart. Instead he saw that the giant was trying to take the axe from the shield but could not no matter how hard he tried. Beltenebros's good fortune guided him to the side missing the stirrup, and as they both fought for the shield, the giant was turned around, and his horse bucked and ran off, so the giant fell to the ground.

The axe remained Beltenebros's hand. The giant got up with great effort and drew a long sword that he carried, wishing to charge at Beltenebros, but he could not because the nerves in his leg were cut, and he fell to his knee on the ground. Beltenebros struck him with the axe on the top of his helmet with such a great blow that the force broke all its laces and made it fly off his head.

Basagante, who saw Beltenebros so close, thought to cut off his head, but he struck him toward the top of his helmet and cut off its crest and the hair beneath it, but did not reach the flesh. Beltenebros pulled back, and the helmet, with nothing to support it, fell to his shoulders, and Basagante's sword fell to the ground, struck some stones, and was broken in two.

Those who watched thought that Beltenebros's head had been cut in half, and they began to mourn, especially Leonoreta and her girls and damsels, who were on their knees in the cart, raising their hands to the heavens and begging God to free them from danger. They tore their hair and screamed and shouted to the Virgin Mary.

But Beltenebros took off the helmet and felt his head with his hand to see if he was mortally wounded and felt nothing. He charged at the giant with the axe, and although Basagante was very strong, when he saw him coming, his heart weakened and he could not protect himself. Beltenebros gave him a great blow on the top of the head, and an ear and jawbone fell to the ground. The giant struck him with the half-sword and cut him a little on the leg, then fell back, thrashing in the field in the throes of death.

By then Famongomadan had taken the helmet from his head and put his hands in the wounds to stop the bleeding. When he saw his son dead, he began to blaspheme God and His mother Holy Mary, saying that he regretted dying only because he had not destroyed His churches and monasteries and because They had allowed him and his son to be defeated and killed by a single knight, when they had not expected to be defeated by a hundred.

Beltenebros knelt on the ground, gave thanks to God for the great mercy He had done, and told Famongomadan:

"Having abandoned God and His blessed Mother, now thou shalt pay for thy great cruelties." He made him take his hands from the wound and told him, "Pray to thy idol for all the innocent blood that thou hast offered to it, and ask it to keep this blood from leaving thee, which shall take thy life."

The giant only cursed God and His saints. Beltenebros took the spear from the horse and thrust it into the giant's mouth so that a full palm-length passed out the other side and into the soil. He took Basagante's helmet and put it on his head so he would not be recognized, and mounting Famongomadan's horse, which Enil gave him, he went to the cart. The knights and damsels and girls knelt, thanking him for the help he had given them. He had the knights' chains removed and asked them to mount their horses, which had been tethered to the cart, and to put the giants into the cart, and Leonoreta and her damsels on the palfreys of the squires, who had also been taken prisoner. He told them to bring the giants to King Lisuarte on behalf of an unknown knight named Beltenebros, who wished to serve him, and tell him why he had killed them. And he asked them to give Basagante's large and handsome horse to the King on his behalf to use in the battle with King Cildadan.

The knights were very happy to do what he had ordered, and they put the giants in the cart, and although it was big, they had to double their legs at the knees to make them fit, the giants were so tall. Leonoreta and the girls and damsels made garlands out of flowers from the forest for their heads, and with much joy, laughing and singing, went to London where all were astounded to see them enter the town like that, and to see the horrible things that the giants were.

When the King learned of the great danger his daughter had been in and how Beltenebros had freed her at his great peril and danger, Sir Cuadragante had already arrived and presented himself before the King as someone who had been defeated by Beltenebros. The King wondered who the knight could be who had just done such amazing feats at arms beyond what all those in his land could do

He praised him for some time, asking everyone if they knew him, but no one could tell him anything except that Corisanda, the beloved of Sir Florestan, had spoken of finding a suffering knight named Beltenebros at Poor Rock.

"May it please God to have such a man among us," the King said. "I would give him anything he asked that I could."
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All about me

Here are links to some recent interviews. 

Me in front of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle. Photo by Jerry Finn.

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In case you're wondering about the person translating this novel, you can read about me in a series of interviews posted recently by members of the Blog Ring of Power.

About me and moving to Spain, at Terri Bruce's blog:
http://www.terribruce.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114:sue-burke&catid=49:author-interviews&Itemid=95

About writing, at T. W. Fendley's blog:
http://twfendley.com/?p=714

How translating is different from writing, at E. M. LaBonte's blog, The Realms of a Fantastical Mind:
http://emlabonte.blogspot.com/2012/03/blog-ring-of-power-interview-with-sue.html

Technical aspects of translating, at Sandra Ulbrich Almazan's blog:
http://ulbrichalmazan.blogspot.com/2012/03/brop-interview-with-sue-burke_19.html

Business aspects, at Dean C. Rich's blog, The Write Time:
http://deanswritingtime.blogspot.com/2012/03/blog-ring-of-power-interview-with-sue.html

In addition, at Jaleta Clegg's blog, The Far Edge of Normal, she and I recently discussed more personal topics, including how I relax and what inspires my creativity:
http://jaletaclegg.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/author-interview-sue-burke.html
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Chapter 55 [middle part]

[How Beltenebros was challenged by ten knights to joust, and what happened to them.] 

[Illustration for the month of May from The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.]
  
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Beltenebros saw Enil, his squire, who was holding Sir Cuadragante's horse and was very happy and joyful at the blessing that God had given his lord. Beltenebros mounted the horse and give his arms to Enil and returned to the road, but he had not traveled far before he found a damsel hunting with a falcon, and three other damsels with her who had seen the battle and heard every word that had been spoken.

When they saw how injured he was and how he needed to rest, they begged him to go with her to her castle where he would have everything at his service in payment for the will that he had shown to serve their lord the King. He agreed, because he was in great pain from his labors. But when they got there, he checked to see if he was injured, and he found no other wound besides the small one on his nipple, which had bled a lot. After three days he left there and rode the entire day without finding adventure, and that night he stayed at the house of a man who lived near the road.

The next day he rode until noon and climbed a hill, from which he saw the city of London, and to his right the castle of Miraflores, where his lady Oriana was. When he saw that, he felt great joy in his soul. Then he spent a while thinking about how he could separate from Enil, and said to him:

"Dost thou know this land where we are?"

"Yes, I do," he said. "London is in that valley, where King Lisuarte is."

"Are we so close to London?" he said. "Well, I do not wish to make myself known to the King nor anyone else until my deeds merit it, for, as thou seest, I am a young man, and I have not done much that could be considered worthy. But since we are so close to London, go to see that squire Gandalin that Durin gave thee regards from, and learn what they say in the court about me, and when the battle with King Cildadan will be."

"How can I leave you alone?" Enil said.

"Do not worry," he said, "for at times I am accustomed to traveling with no one else, but first, I want us to decide on some place where thou shalt find me."

Then they continued on their way, and soon they saw two tents standing alongside a river, and between those two a third which was very fine. Knights and damsels were relaxing in front of them. He saw five shields at the doorway of one tent, and five more at the other tent, thus ten armed knights, but since he had no reason to joust with them, he left the road that led to them.

The knights at the tents called him to come and joust.

"I do not wish to joust now," he said, "for ye are many and rested, and I am alone and tired."

"But I think," one of them said, "that ye avoid fighting out of fear of losing your horse."

"And why would I lose it?" he said.

"Because it would belong to the one who knocks you from it," the knight said. "It is more certain that we would win than you."

"Well, if that is how it must be," Beltenebros said, "I would rather ride on it than place it at risk." And he began to ride away from them again.

The knights told him:

"It seems to us, knight, that your arms are better protected by pretty words than by the courage of your heart. You could keep them to put on your tomb, though ye may live for a hundred years."

"Ye may think of me as ye will," he said, "and nothing ye say shall diminish my skills, whatever they are."

"May God now grant ye the sudden urge to fight," one of them said, "and ye shall not seek refuge on this horse as a penalty for being a traitor, or this year I shall not mount another."

Beltenebros said:

"My good lord, I doubt that, and that is why I am going another way."

All of them began to say:

"Oh, Holy Mary help us, what a frightened knight!"

But he did not reply and went on his way, and when he came to a ford in the river that he wanted to cross, he heard someone tell him:

"Stop, knight!"

He looked to see who it was and saw a well-attired damsel on a beautiful palfrey, who came up to him and said:

"My lord knight, in that tent is Leonoreta, the daughter of King Lisuarte, and she and all the damsels beg you to joust with those knights. Do this for their love, for ye are more obligated by their request by that of the knights."

"What," he said, "the daughter of the King is there?"

"My lord, yes," she said.

"I am sorry to have enmity with those knights, for I would prefer to serve her, but since she orders it, I must ask that those knights do not ask for anything more than a joust from me."

The damsel returned with his request and Beltenebros took up his arms. Returning to the tents, he found a good, flat field and waited there, and soon he saw the knight come who had said he would not let him leave on his horse unless he jousted with him. Beltenebros had thought a lot about him, so he was glad to see that he was the first. When he got closer, they let their horses charge as fast as they could. The knight broke his lance, and Beltenebros struck him so hard that he threw him out of the saddle to roll around on the field.

He ordered Enil to take his horse, and the knight remained broken from the fall, senseless, and came to groaning and thrashing on the ground, as one who had three ribs and a hip broken.

Beltenebros told him:

"My lord knight, if your word is true, for the next year ye will not fall again from a horse, as ye had promised if ye did not win mine."

At this point, he saw that another knight come to joust, shouting at Beltenebros to protect himself, so he charged at him and knocked him down like the first one. He did the same to the third and the fourth, and on that one he broke his lance, but the knight was badly hurt, for the lance had passed through his shield and his arm. Beltenebros had all their horses taken and tied to the branches of some trees, and since he had knocked down those four knights, he wanted to leave, but he saw another knight coming, ready to joust. He brought a squire who carried four lances, and he said:

"My lord knight, Leonoreta sends you these lances, and sends word to do with them what ye must with the knights that remain, since ye knocked down their companions."

Beltenebros said:

"For the love of Leonoreta, who is daughter of such a good king, I shall do what she orders, but for the knights I tell you that I would do nothing, since I hold them very unjust to make knights who are going on their way fight against their will."

He took a lance and charged at the knight and knocked him down like the others, and so he did against all of them, except the last, who jousted with him twice and broke two lances against him, but could not move him from his saddle, until finally Beltenebros knocked him down like the others. And if anyone were to ask who he was, I say it was Nicoran of the Fearful Bridge, who at that time was one of the best jousters in the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Having completed these jousts, as ye have heard, he sent all the horses he had won to Leonoreta, and ordered her to tell her knights either to be more courteous to those who passed them on the road or to joust better, for a knight might come who could make them wind up traveling on foot. The knights were so ashamed of what had happened that they did not reply. They were amazed that they were knocked down by a single knight, and they could not imagine who he was, for none had seen a knight who wore arms with those colors.

Nicoran said:

"If Amadis were alive and well, I would say he was him, for I do not know of any other knight who could leave us in this condition."

"Truly," said Galiseo, "it must not be him, for one of us would have recognized him, and especially because he would not wish to joust, for he knows us all as his friends."

Giontes, nephew of the King, said:

"If God were pleased to have him be Amadis, He used him well to give us shame, but whoever he is, may God give him good fortune wherever he goes, for although he rightly won our horses, he was good enough to return them to us."

"May he be cursed," said Lasanor, "for I am suffering from broken ribs and a broken hip, but it is my fault, for I and no one else sought my own harm." That knight was the first to joust.

Beltenebros left them and felt very happy about how what had happened, and he went on his way talking with Enil and looking at the lance that he had acquired, which seemed very good. It was hot and the jousting had made him thirsty, and when he had gone a quarter of a league, he saw a hermitage covered with trees, and he went there to pray and to drink water. He saw three palfreys at the gate with saddles for damsels and another two for squires. He dismounted and entered, but he saw no one inside, and he prayed from his heart to God and the Virgin Mary. When he left the hermitage, he saw three damsels under some trees at a spring, and the squires with them, and they told him:

"Knight, are ye of the court of King Lisuarte?"

"My good damsels," he said, "I would like to be such a knight that they would want me in his company. But as for you, where are you going?"

"To Miraflores," they said, "to see our aunt who is abbess of a convent, and to see Oriana, the daughter of King Lisuarte. We decided to rest here until the heat passed."

"In the name of God," he said, "I shall keep you company until it is time to leave." And he asked them about the name of that spring.

"We do not know," they said, "nor of any other that is in this forest, except for the one in that valley next to those big trees, which is called the Spring with Three Streams."

They showed him the valley nearby, but he knew it better than them, for he had often traveled there hunting, and he wanted that spring to be the place where Enil would look for him, from whom he wanted to separate so he could go see his lady.

So they were speaking, as ye hear, and soon they saw a cart coming along the same road on which Beltenebros had traveled. Twelve palfreys pulled the cart, and two dwarfs on it guided them. In it they saw many armed knights in chains, and their shields hung from its sides, and among them were beautiful damsels and girls who were wailing. In front of the cart came a giant so huge that he was terrifying to see, riding on a black horse and wearing strong plate armor and a helmet that shined brightly. He carried a long iron spear. Behind the cart rode another giant who was even bigger and more frightening than the first.

The damsels with Beltenebros were so frightened that they hid among the trees. The giant in front turned to the dwarfs and told them:

"I shall tear you into a thousand pieces unless ye make sure the damsels do not spill their blood, for I wish to make a sacrifice with it to the god I worship."

When Beltenebros heard this, he knew that was Famongomadan, who had a custom that he would never abandon, which was to cut the throats of many damsels in front of an idol that he kept at the Boiling Lake, by whose advice and declarations he was guided in all things. He kept it content with those sacrifices, since the Evil Enemy could be satisfied with such vile works.

Although Beltenebros had wanted to fight with him for what he had said about Oriana, he had not wanted to find him until he had passed the night with his lady, as had been arranged, and he was tired after having jousted with those ten knights. But since he knew the knights in the cart, and Leonoreta and the damsels with them, he felt great sorrow to see them, and he knew how it would hurt his lady if such ill fortune were to befall her sister. It seemed likely that, after he had departed from the jousts, as ye have heard, leaving those knights injured, those two giants soon arrived, father and son, who had challenged King Lisuarte. They had taken the knights and damsels and put them, as ye heard, into the cart which they brought with them to carry any prisoners they could take.

Beltenebros immediately mounted his horse and asked Enil to give him his arms, who told him:

"Why do ye want them? First let those devils go past."

"Give me them," Beltenebros said, "for before they go past, I wish to test the mercy of God, and if whether will please Him to have me put an end to the labors of these enemies of His."

"Oh, my lord," he said, "why do ye want to end the joy of your youth? Even the twenty best knights that King Lisuarte has would fail here, and they would not dare to do this."

"Do not worry," he said, "for if this went past me and I did not do what I could, I would not be fit to appear before good men. Thou shalt see what my fate will be."
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The men who tricked a king

You probably heard this story as a child, but in a different version. Here's the medieval original.

Illustration for the Hans Christian Anderson version of the story by Vilhelm Pederson, 1849.

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In 1335, Sir Juan Manuel (1282-1348) sat down to write a book of tales to exemplify good and foolish behavior. He was a nephew of King Alfonso X the Wise of Castile, grandson of Saint Ferdinand III, King of Castile, and was himself Prince of Villena, among other titles. He had been well-educated as a youth and had spent his life involved in politics and the defense of the realm.

Although literature was deemed unworthy a man of his high estate, he became the first writer in Castilian to consider himself what we would call a professional writer, and he worked hard to perfect his works. He wrote a dozen books on topics ranging from chivalry and hunting to history and religion, but his best-known is El libro de los enxiemplos del Conde Lucanor e de Patronio (The Book of Examples of Count Lucanor and Patronio).

In that book, Count Lucanor asks his advisor Patronio for counsel about his problems and concerns, and Patrionio answers with short stories or fables — 50 stories in all. Some are drawn from Arabic folk tales or classical sources like Aesop, others are original.

Eventually these stories were translated into different languages, and they inspired future writers. Here is Example XXXII from El Conde Lucanor. The Count says that a man has proposed an important business matter that could be very advantageous, but insisted that it be kept secret. Patronio responds:

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My lord Count Lucanor, so that you understand what I think would be best for you to do, I would like you to know what happened to a Moorish king when three rogues came to see him....

My lord Count, the three rogues came before a King and told him they were excellent master weavers. Their greatest skill was to make a cloth that could be seen by any man who was the son of his father as everyone believed, but the cloth could not be seen by a man who was not the son of the man everyone said was his father.

This seemed very good to the King, for by that means he would know the men in his realm who were the true sons of their fathers and who were not, and that way he could confiscate their estates and increase his own, because Moors did not inherit from their fathers if they were not truly their sons. To do that, he ordered the weavers be given a large hall so they could make the cloth.

They asked the King to order the hall locked until the cloth was finished so he could be sure there was no trickery. This also seemed very agreeable to the King. They were given a great deal of gold, silver, silk, and everything else they needed to make the cloth, and they entered the hall and were locked inside.

They put up their looms and seemed to spend all day weaving the cloth. After several days, one of them went to tell the King the cloth had been begun and it was one of the most beautiful things in the world. He described the patterns and decorations that they had begun to create and asked him, if it was his wish, to come and see it, but no one at all should accompany him. The King was pleased by all of this.

The King, to have someone else test himself first, sent his chamberlain, whom he did not think would be fooled. When the chamberlain saw the weavers and heard what they said, he did not dare to say that he could not see it. And so, when he returned to the King, he said he had seen the cloth. The King then sent another servant, who said the same thing. And since all those who had been sent by the King assured him that they had seen the cloth, the King went to see it.

He entered the hall and saw the weavers working while they said, "You can see this decoration here, and this pattern, and this figure, and this color."

And they all agreed about what they said, yet they had not woven anything. The King saw nothing and heard them describe the cloth, but he could not see it even though the others had. He felt frightened to death, believing that he could not see it because he was not the son of the man he thought was his father the king. He feared that if he said he could not see it, he would lose his kingdom.

Because of that, he praised the cloth and paid close attention to all the details that the weavers showed him. When he returned to his court and his courtiers, he began to speak wonders about how good and how marvelous that cloth was, and he described the figures and patterns that were in it, but he felt very unsure about himself.

After two or three days, he sent his governor to see the cloth and told him about the virtues and marvels that he would see in it. The governor went and when he entered, he saw the weavers working and describing the decorations and patterns of the cloth, but, since the King had said he could see it and the governor could not, he believed it was because he was not the son of the man he had held to be his father. He thought that if anyone found out, he would lose his honors, so he began to praise the cloth as much or more than the King had.

When he returned to the King and told him that he had seen the cloth and it was the most worthy and handsome thing in the world, the King felt even more disgraced, thinking that since the governor had seen the cloth and he had not, he had no doubts that he was not the son of the king, as he had believed. For that reason, he began to praise even more highly the quality and beauty of the cloth and the skills of those who had woven it.

The next day the King sent his favorite courtier, and the same thing happened to him. What more shall I tell you? This way, out of fear, the King and many in his land were fooled because none dared to say that he did not see the cloth.

And so the business continued until a big festival approached, and everyone told the King he should wear that cloth for the occasion. The weavers brought the cloth wrapped in fine linen sheets, and they acted as if they unrolled it, then asked the King what kind of outfit they should sew. The King described the kind of clothing he wanted. They measured him and acted as if they were cutting the cloth and sewing.

When the day of the festival arrived, the weavers brought the King the cloth, cut and sewn, and made him think they were dressing him and smoothing out the folds. When the King thought he was dressed, he did not dare to say that he could not see the cloth.

And clothed that way as you have heard, he mounted a horse to ride through the city. It was good for him that it was summer.

When people saw him coming dressed that way, they knew that he who could not see the cloth was not the son of the man he thought was his father. Everyone believed that although he did not see it, the rest could, and if he were to say so, he would be lost and dishonored.

That way the secret was kept and no one dared to reveal it until a black man, the King's horseman, who had nothing to lose, approached the King and told him, "My lord, it makes no difference to me if you think I am the son of the man I say is my father or someone else, and because of that, I tell you that either I am blind or you are naked."

The King began to insult him, saying that he could not see the clothes because he was not the son of the man he believed was his father.

But after the black man had said this, someone who had heard him said the same thing, and then others said so until the King and all the rest lost their fear and recognized the truth, and so they understood the trickery that the rogues had done. When they went to look for them, they did not find them, for they had left with everything they had gotten from the King by means of the trickery that you have heard about.

And so, Count Lucanor, since that man has told you that no one you trust should know what he has proposed, you may be sure that he wishes to trick you. You should realize that he has no reason to want your success, since he hardly knows you, while those who have lived with you have given and done much for you, because they will always want what is good for you and to serve you.
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