Wedgwood, Ethel . The Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville
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CHAPTER I




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   HOW THE ICING WAS RECEIVED AT ACRE AN OBLIGING VALET OF THE MONEY THAT JOINVILLE DEPOSITED WITH THE TEMPLARS HE LIES AT DEATH'S DOOR THE GAMBLING AND EXTRAVAGANCE OF THE KING'S BROTHERS.

   

A Journey


   To continue my story. When the King arrived at Acre, all the processions of Acre came down to the beach to meet and welcome him with great rejoicings.

   They brought me a palfrey. No sooner was I mounted, than my heart failed me, and I told the man who had brought me the palfrey that he must hold me, or I should fall off. With great difficulty they got me up the steps of the King's hall. I sat down in a window, and beside me a child of about ten years old, who was named Berthlemin, and was the bastard son of Lord Amy of Montbeliart, the Lord of Montfaucon.


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   As I was sitting there, where no one paid any attention to me, there came up to me a valet, wearing a crimson coat with two yellow stripes, and saluted me, and asked me: whether I knew him? And I told him: No. And he told me that he came from Oiselair, my uncle's castle. I asked him: who was his master? and he said that: He had no master; and that he would stay with me, if I pleased; and I told him that I should be very glad.

   He went forthwith, and fetched white coifs, and combed my hair very nicely. Then the King sent for me to come and dine with him; and I went to him just as I was, in the corslet that had been made for me in prison out of the snippings from my coverlet. The coverlet I left to the child Berthlemin, with four ells of camlin cloth, that had been given me out of charity in the prison.

   Willikins, my new servant, came and carved before me; and procured some food for the child whilst we were at table.

   My new valet told me that he had secured me a house quite close to the baths; so that I might wash off the filth and sweat that clung to me from the prison. When the evening came and I was


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in the bath, my heart failed me, and I fainted; and it was with great difficulty that they got me out of the bath and as far as my bed.

   On the morrow, an old knight, named Lord Peter of Bourbonne, came to see me, and I retained him in my service. He raised on credit in the town as much as was needed to clothe and fit me out.

   Directly I had my outfit, about four days after our arrival, I went to see the King; and he upbraided me, and told me that I had not done well in delaying so long to visit him; and he charged me, as I valued his love, that I should henceforth eat with him both morning and evening, until such time as he should have settled what we were to do whether to go to France, or to stay where we were.

   I told the King that my Lord Peter of Courtenay owed me four hundred pounds of my wages, which he would not pay me. And the King answered that: He would see that the Lord of Courtenay paid me the money that he owed me; and so he did.

   By Lord Peter of Bourbonne's advice we set aside forty pounds for our expenses; and the remainder we entrusted to the keeping of the Commender


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of the Palace of the Temple. When I had come to the end of the forty pounds, I sent Father John Caym of St. Menehould (whom I had retained over-seas) to fetch me another forty. The Commander in reply told him, that he had no money of mine, and did not know me. I went to Brother Reynold of Vichiers (who, through the King's influence, had been made Master of the Temple thanks to the favour he had done him in prison, of which I told you), and I complained to him of the Commander of the Palace, who would not restore me the money that I had entrusted to him On hearing this, he was very much alarmed; and said to me, " Sir de Joinville; I love you well; but rest assured, that, if you will not forego this claim of yours, I shall cease to be your friend; for you want to make people believe, that our brethren are thieves! " I told him that, please God, I would never forego my claim. In this distress of mind I remained for four days, like a man who has not a penny left to spend. At the end of the four days, the Master came up to me laughing, and told me, he had found my money. And how it was found was, that he had changed the first Commander of


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the Palace, and sent him to a hamlet called Saffran; and this man gave me back my money.

    The Bishop of Acre (that was then), who was native of Provence, procured me the loan of the house belonging to the curate of St. Michael; and I had retained Caym of St. Menehould, who served me very well for two years better than any man I ever had about me.

    Now as it happened there was a closet by the head of my bed, through which one entered the church. Now it so happened that a persistent fever seized me, by reason of which I took to my bed, and all my household as well. There was one day, for a whole day long, when I had never a creature to wait on me or help me to rise; and I looked for naught but death, from a token that was in my very ears; for there was not a day but they carried full twenty dead bodies or more to the church; and from my bed, every time that one was carried in, I could hear them chanting "Libera me Domine."

   Then I wept, and gave thanks to God, and thus addressed him: "Lord, praised be thou for this destitution whereto thou hast brought me! for many


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lacqueys have I had to wait on my down-lying and up-rising. And I beseech Thee, Lord, that Thou wouldst aid and deliver me from this sickness, me and my people."

   After these things, I demanded [my account] from Willikins, my new squire, and he brought it me; and I found that he had made away with over ten pounds tournois; and he told me, when I questioned him, that he would repay them to me when he could. I dismissed him, and told him that I would make him a present of what he owed me, for he had well earned it. I learnt from the knights of Burgundy when they came back from prison, that they had brought him out in their company, and that he was themost obliging thief that ever was; for when any knight was in want of a knife, or a strap, or gloves, or spurs, or anything, Willikins would go and steal it and give it to him.

   During this time that the King was in Acre, the King's brothers took to playing dice; and the Count of Poitiers was so generous in his play, that, whenever he had won, he used to have the hall thrown open, and call in whatever gentlemen and ladies were there and would distribute money in handfuls,


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not only what he had won, but out of his own purse as well. And when he lost, he would buy up all the ready money on account from those he had been playing against his brother the Count of Anjou and the rest; and give the whole away, both his own money and the other people's.

   NOTE TO CHAPTER I

   The King's two eldest brothers were favourably regarded by the priestly chroniclers, and held up with himself as examples of his mother's excellent education. Geoffrey of Beaulieu hazards a quotation from their brother of Sicily that neither Robert nor Alphonso was ever accused of a deadly sin! On the subject of the King of Sicily he is more reticent, possibly because his history was so well known that nobody would have believed him. Even while he was only Count of Anjou the King had several times to interfere in his jurisdiction in the interests of justice as in a case where Charles tries to force a man to sell him a piece of land; and on another occasion, when the uncle of the Count of Vendôme appeals against a civil decision of his court, and subsequent arbitrary imprisonment.