Chapter 64 [part 2 of 4]

[How the King came to understand that he had received bad advice, and how Gandandel and Brocadan feared for their future.] 

[Illustration for The Life of St. Edward the Confessor from a manuscript executed in about 1250 to 1260, in the University of Cambridge Digital Library.]
 
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Sarquiles mounted his horse and used a shortcut he knew to arrive at Firm Island as fast as he could. Due to the labor of the road, he arrived with his horse weak and weary, and it could carry him no more. He found Amadis, Angriote, and Sir Bruneo of Bonamar riding along the seashore to prepare ships to go to Gaul, where Amadis wished to see his father and mother. Sarquiles was well received by them, and Angriote told him:

“Nephew, what trouble do ye have that ye brought your horse to such a bad state?”

“A very great one,” he said, “and I wished to see you and tell you something that ye need to know.”

Then he told them how the damsel, named Gandaza, had hidden him in Brocadan’s house, and repeated everything that he had overheard Brocadan and Gandandel say about the malice they had arranged between the King and Amadis. Angriote said to Amadis:

“Does it seem to you, my lord, that my suspicion was misdirected, although ye would not let me act on it? But now, if it please God, neither you nor anyone else can deny that these evil men have obviously done a great treason and vile deed to the King and to you.”

Amadis told him:

“Now, my good friend, ye may act with more certainty and righteousness than before, and may God help you with it.”

“Then I shall leave tomorrow at dawn of day,” Angriote said, “and Sarquiles shall come with me on another horse, and soon ye will learn of the payment that those evildoers shall receive for their malice.”

Immediately they went to Amadis’s lodging, which he always shared with Angriote, and they prepared everything that would be necessary for the trip. The next day they mounted and left for the place where they knew King Lisuarte was.

The King was deep in thought about the things Sarquiles had told him, waiting to see what would result from it.

One day Gandandel and Brocadan came to him and told him:

“My lord, we are worried that ye are not thinking about your estate.”

“That may well be,” the King said, “but why do ye ask?”

“Because some knights are coming from Firm Island,” they said. “They are your enemies, and without any fear they will try to enter your court and save these damsels from whom ye ought to have received that land. And if ye take our advice, before the knights arrive, ye shall have them beheaded and send orders to them not to enter in your land. With this, ye shall be feared, and neither Amadis nor they shall dare to anger you. As things are now, if they do not abandon their plans out of fear, they shall not do so out of virtue. My lord, order this be done immediately without any more discussion or delay, because when things like this are done quickly, they create more fear.”

The King remembered what Sarquiles had told him and realized he had been told the truth when he saw how eagerly they sought the death of these damsels. He did not wish to act with haste, and instead told them:

“Ye say two things that are both very weighty and very wrong: first, to kill the damsels without any form of justice. What account shall I make to the Lord, Whose minister I am, if I were to do that? He put me to act in His place so that things would be done justly in His name. If doing injustice and injury were to put great fear in people as ye say, in the end it would all justly and rightly fall on me, because when kings do cruelties more due to desire than reason, they trust their wisdom more than God’s, which is the greatest error possible. So the truest and most sure thing to make any prince secure in this world and the next one is to do things in accord with the counsel of people with good intentions, and to believe that although at the beginning he might encounter some difficulties, if he is guided by the just Judge, the end can only be good.

“The second thing that ye say is to send orders to these knights not to come to my court, and it would be a very dishonest thing to send away anyone who wishes to seek justice from me, especially if they are quite opposed to me. There is much honor for me to have in my hand and will the ability to do what they seek and so by necessity they must come to ask my judgement.

“So I will do neither of the things that ye told me, which I do not hold for good, and much less that which ye have counseled me against Amadis and for which I deserve great sorrow because never from him nor his family did I receive anything but service. If there were anything against them, others would have known or suspected something, but the only proof that has appeared is yours. Ye have advised me poorly and harmed someone who never deserved it. I, who erred, bear the penalty, and I think that in the end ye, who did not lead me to the truth, will also have to pay.”

He arose, left them, and went to his knights. Gandandel felt very frightened when he saw the King like that, for he did not know how to prove what he had said. Brocadan told him:

“Now is not the time to turn back, Gandandel, for little can be gained from so much harm. Instead, we should sustain all that we have said to the King more forcefully.”

“I do not know how this can be done,” Gandandel said, “because no one has been found who does not say the contrary.”

And so they stood, pondering in their hearts that which would make their error greater, as is natural among evil men.

The next day the King rode with a large company after having heard Mass. He went out into the country, and soon the knights arrived from Firm Island who were coming to free Madasima and her damsels. When the King saw them, he rode toward them to receive them because they deserved recognition for their great skill, and because he was very honorable to everyone.

They came before him with great humility. Their men put up tents in the field where they could stay, and the King traveled that far with them. As he was leaving, Sir Galvanes told him:

“My lord, trusting in your virtue and your good and just ways, we have come to ask for your mercy to hear Madasima and her damsels so they might receive justice. We are here to support their plea, and if we cannot do that, it will not trouble us to support them with arms, for there is no cause for which they should die.”

The King said:

“For today, rest in your tents, and I shall do all that which rightly should be done.”

Sir Brian of Monjaste told him:

“My lord, we hope that ye shall do everything which becomes your royal estate and conscience. If anything in it is lacking, it will be due to bad advisors who do not protect your honor or fame. If it does not trouble you, I shall make it known at once to anyone who says the contrary.”

“Sir Brian,” the King said, “if ye had believed your father, I know well that ye would not have left me for another, nor would you have come to speak against me.”

“My lord,” Brian said, “my thoughts are for you. I do not ask you to do anything that is not right, but do not allow your grace to be injured by those who by fate do not serve you as well as I do. And as for what ye said, that if I believed my father I would not leave you, I did not leave you because I was never yours, although I am of your family. I came to your court to see my cousin Amadis, and when it did not please you to have him be yours, I left with him and did not err at any point from what I should do.”

As ye hear, this is what happened with Brian of Monjaste. The King went to the town and they remained in their tents, where they were visited by many of their friends. Regarding Oriana, I tell you that she never left her window, looking at those who loved her beloved so much, and she prayed to God to give them the victory that they sought.

That night Gandandel and Brocadan felt anguish in their souls because they could not find one good reason with which to uphold what they had started, but since they saw more danger in desisting, they decided to continue on.
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Chapter 64 [part 1 of 4]

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]

[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]

[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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