Quentin Durward

by Walter Scott

  CHAPTER XXXIII: THE HERALD

  Ariel.--Hark! they roar. Prospero. Let them be hunted soundly.

  THE TEMPEST

  There was room made in the assembly, and no small curiosity evinced bythose present to see the herald whom the insurgent Liegeois had venturedto send to so haughty a Prince as the Duke of Burgundy, while in suchhigh indignation against them. For it must be remembered that at thisperiod heralds were only dispatched from sovereign princes to eachother upon solemn occasions; and that the inferior nobility employedpursuivants, a lower rank of officers at arms. It may be also noticed,in passing, that Louis XI, an habitual derider of whatever did notpromise real power or substantial advantage, was in especial a professedcontemner of heralds and heraldry, "red, blue, and green, with all theirtrumpery," to which the pride of his rival Charles, which was of a verydifferent kind, attached no small degree of ceremonious importance.

  The herald, who was now introduced into the presence of the monarchs,was dressed in a tabard, or coat, embroidered with the arms of hismaster, in which the Boar's Head made a distinguished appearance,in blazonry, which in the opinion of the skilful was more showy thanaccurate. The rest of his dress--a dress always sufficiently tawdry--wasovercharged with lace, embroidery, and ornament of every kind, and theplume of feathers which he wore was so high, as if intended to sweep theroof of the hall. In short, the usual gaudy splendour of the heraldicattire was caricatured and overdone. The Boar's Head was not onlyrepeated on every part of his dress, but even his bonnet was formed intothat shape, and it was represented with gory tongue and bloody tusks, orin proper language, langed and dentated gules, and there was somethingin the man's appearance which seemed to imply a mixture of boldness andapprehension, like one who has undertaken a dangerous commission, andis sensible that audacity alone can carry him through it with safety.Something of the same mixture of fear and effrontery was visible in themanner in which he paid his respects, and he showed also a grotesqueawkwardness, not usual amongst those who were accustomed to be receivedin the presence of princes.

  "Who art thou, in the devil's name?" was the greeting with which Charlesthe Bold received this singular envoy.

  "I am Rouge Sanglier," answered the herald, "the officer at arms ofWilliam de la Marck, by the grace of God, and the election of theChapter, Prince Bishop of Liege."

  "Ha!" exclaimed Charles, but, as if subduing his own passion, he made asign to him to proceed.

  "And, in right of his wife, the Honourable Countess Hameline of Croye,Count of Croye, and Lord of Bracquemont."

  The utter astonishment of Duke Charles at the extremity of boldness withwhich these titles were announced in his presence seemed to strike himdumb; and the herald conceiving, doubtless, that he had made a suitableimpression by the annunciation of his character, proceeded to state hiserrand.

  "Annuncio vobis gaudium magnum [I announce to you a great joy]," hesaid; "I let you, Charles of Burgundy and Earl of Flanders, to know, inmy master's name, that under favour of a dispensation of our Holy Fatherof Rome, presently expected, and appointing a fitting substitute adsacra [to the sacred office], he proposes to exercise at once the officeof Prince Bishop, and maintain the rights of Count of Croye."

  The Duke of Burgundy, at this and other pauses in the herald's speech,only ejaculated, "Ha!" or some similar interjection, without makingany answer; and the tone of exclamation was that of one who, thoughsurprised and moved, is willing to hear all that is to be said ere hecommits himself by making an answer. To the further astonishment ofall who were present, he forbore from his usual abrupt and violentgesticulations, remaining with the nail of his thumb pressed againsthis teeth, which was his favourite attitude when giving attention,and keeping his eyes bent on the ground, as if unwilling to betray thepassion which might gleam in them.

  The envoy, therefore, proceeded boldly and unabashed in the delivery ofhis message. "In the name, therefore, of the Prince Bishop of Liege,and Count of Croye, I am to require of you, Duke Charles, to desist fromthose pretensions and encroachments which you have made on the free andimperial city of Liege, by connivance with the late Louis of Bourbon,unworthy Bishop thereof."

  "Ha," again exclaimed the Duke.

  "Also to restore the banners of the community, which you took violentlyfrom the town, to the number of six and thirty--to rebuild the breachesin their walls, and restore the fortifications which you tyrannicallydismantled--and to acknowledge my master, William de la Marck, as PrinceBishop, lawfully elected in a free Chapter of Canons, of which beholdthe proces verbal."

  "Have you finished?" said the Duke.

  "Not yet," replied the envoy. "I am farther to require your Grace,on the part of the said right noble and venerable Prince, Bishop, andCount, that you do presently withdraw the garrison from the Castle ofBracquemont, and other places of strength, belonging to the Earldom ofCroye, which have been placed there, whether in your own most graciousname, or in that of Isabelle, calling herself Countess of Croye, or anyother, until it shall be decided by the Imperial Diet whether the fiefsin question shall not pertain to the sister of the late Count, my mostgracious Lady Hameline, rather than to his daughter, in respect ofthe jus emphyteusis [a permanent tenure of land upon condition ofcultivating it properly, and paying a stipulated rent; a sort of feefarm or copyhold]."

  "Your master is most learned," replied the Duke.

  "Yet," continued the herald, "the noble and venerable Prince and Countwill be disposed, all other disputes betwixt Burgundy and Liege beingsettled, to fix upon the Lady Isabelle such an appanage as may becomeher quality."

  "He is generous and considerate," said the Duke, in the same tone.

  "Now, by a poor fool's conscience," said Le Glorieux apart to the Countof Crevecoeur, "I would rather be in the worst cow's hide that ever diedof the murrain than in that fellow's painted coat! The poor man goeson like drunkards, who only look to the ether pot, and not to the scorewhich mine host chalks up behind the lattice."

  "Have you yet done?" said the Duke to the herald.

  "One word more," answered Rouge Sanglier, "from my noble and venerablelord aforesaid, respecting his worthy and trusty ally, the mostChristian King."

  "Ha!" exclaimed the Duke, starting, and in a fiercer tone than he hadyet used; but checking himself, he instantly composed himself again toattention.

  "Which most Christian King's royal person it is rumoured that you,Charles of Burgundy, have placed under restraint contrary to your dutyas a vassal of the Crown of France, and to the faith observed amongChristian Sovereigns. For which reason, my said noble and venerablemaster, by my mouth, charges you to put his royal and most Christianally forthwith at freedom, or to receive the defiance which I amauthorized to pronounce to you."

  "Have you yet done?" said the Duke.

  "I have," answered the herald, "and await your Grace's answer, trustingit may be such as will save the effusion of Christian blood."

  "Now, by Saint George of Burgundy!" said the Duke, but ere he couldproceed farther, Louis arose, and struck in with a tone of so muchdignity and authority that Charles could not interrupt him.

  "Under your favour, fair cousin of Burgundy," said the King, "weourselves crave priority of voice in replying to this insolentfellow.--Sirrah herald, or whatever thou art, carry back notice to theperjured outlaw and murderer, William de la Marck, that the King ofFrance will be presently before Liege, for the purpose of punishing thesacrilegious murderer of his late beloved kinsman, Louis of Bourbon;and that he proposes to gibbet De la Marck alive, for the insolence ofterming himself his ally, and putting his royal name into the mouth ofone of his own base messengers."

  "Add whatever else on my part," said Charles, "which it may notmisbecome a prince to send to a common thief and murderer.--Andbegone!--Yet stay.--Never herald went from the Court of Burgundy withouthaving cause to cry, Largesse!--Let him be scourged till the bones arelaid bare."

  "Nay, but if it please your Grace," said Crevecoeur and D'Hymbercourttogether, "he is a her
ald, and so far privileged."

  "It is you, Messires," replied the Duke, "who are such owls as to thinkthat the tabard makes the herald. I see by that fellow's blazoning he isa mere impostor. Let Toison d'Or step forward, and question him in yourpresence."

  In spite of his natural effrontery, the envoy of the Wild Boar ofArdennes now became pale; and that notwithstanding some touches ofpaint with which he had adorned his countenance. Toison d'Or, the chiefherald, as we have elsewhere said, of the Duke, and King at arms withinhis dominions, stepped forward with the solemnity of one who knew whatwas due to his office, and asked his supposed brother in what college hehad studied the science which he professed.

  "I was bred a pursuivant at the Heraldic College of Ratisbon," answeredRouge Sanglier, "and received the diploma of Ehrenhold [a herald] fromthat same learned fraternity."

  "You could not derive it from a source more worthy," answered Toisond'Or, bowing still lower than he had done before; "and if I presume toconfer with you on the mysteries of our sublime science, in obedience tothe orders of the most gracious Duke, it is not in hopes of giving, butof receiving knowledge."

  "Go to," said the Duke impatiently. "Leave off ceremony, and ask himsome question that may try his skill."

  "It were injustice to ask a disciple of the worthy College of Arms atRatisbon if he comprehendeth the common terms of blazonry," said Toisond'Or, "but I may, without offence, crave of Rouge Sanglier to say if heis instructed in the more mysterious and secret terms of the science, bywhich the more learned do emblematically, and as it were parabolically,express to each other what is conveyed to others in the ordinarylanguage, taught in the very accidence as it were of Heraldry."

  "I understand one sort of blazonry as well as another," answered RougeSanglier boldly, "but it may be we have not the same terms in Germanywhich you have here in Flanders."

  "Alas, that you will say so!" replied Toison d'Or. "our noble science,which is indeed the very banner of nobleness and glory of generosity,being the same in all Christian countries, nay, known and acknowledgedeven by the Saracens and Moors. I would, therefore, pray of you todescribe what coat you will after the celestial fashion, that is, by theplanets."

  "Blazon it yourself as you will," said Rouge Sanglier; "I will do nosuch apish tricks upon commandment, as an ape is made to come aloft."

  "Show him a coat and let him blazon it his own way," said the Duke;"and if he fails, I promise him that his back shall be gules, azure, andsable."

  "Here," said the herald of Burgundy, taking from his pouch a piece ofparchment, "is a scroll in which certain considerations led me toprick down, after my own poor fashion, an ancient coat. I will praymy brother, if indeed he belong to the honourable College of Arms atRatisbon, to decipher it in fitting language."

  Le Glorieux, who seemed to take great pleasure in this discussion, hadby this time bustled himself close up to the two heralds. "I will helpthee, good fellow," said he to Rouge Sanglier, as he looked hopelesslyupon the scroll. "This, my lords and masters, represents the cat lookingout at the dairy window."

  This sally occasioned a laugh, which was something to the advantage ofRouge Sanglier, as it led Toison d'Or, indignant at the misconstructionof his drawing, to explain it as the coat of arms assumed by Childebert,King of France, after he had taken prisoner Gandemar, King of Burgundy;representing an ounce, or tiger cat, the emblem of the captive prince,behind a grating, or, as Toison d'Or technically defined it, "Sable, amusion [a tiger cat; a term of heraldry] passant Or, oppressed with atrellis gules, cloue of the second."

  "By my bauble," said Le Glorieux, "if the cat resemble Burgundy, she hasthe right side of the grating nowadays."

  "True, good fellow," said Louis, laughing, while the rest of thepresence, and even Charles himself, seemed disconcerted at so broad ajest.

  "I owe thee a piece of gold for turning some thing that looked like sadearnest into the merry game, which I trust it will end in."

  "Silence, Le Glorieux," said the Duke; "and you, Toison d'Or, whoare too learned to be intelligible, stand back--and bring that rascalforward, some of you.--Hark ye, villain," he said in his harshest tone,"do you know the difference between argent and or, except in the shapeof coined money?"

  "For pity's sake, your Grace, be good unto me!--Noble King Louis, speakfor me!"

  "Speak for thyself," said the Duke. "In a word, art thou herald or not?"

  "Only for this occasion!" acknowledged the detected official.

  "Now, by Saint George!" said the Duke, eyeing Louis askance, "we knowno king--no gentleman--save one, who would have so prostituted the noblescience on which royalty and gentry rest, save that King who sent toEdward of England a serving man disguised as a herald."

  [The heralds of the middle ages were regarded almost as sacredcharacters. It was treasonable to strike a herald, or to counterfeitthe character of one. Yet Louis "did not hesitate to practise such animposition when he wished to enter into communication with Edward IV ofEngland.... He selected, as an agentfit for his purpose, a simple valet.This man... he disguised as a herald, with all the insignia of hisoffice, and sent him in that capacity to open a communication with theEnglish army. The stratagem, though of so fraudulent a nature, doesnot seem to have been necessarily called for, since all that King Louiscould gain by it would be that he did not commit himself by sending amore responsible messenger. ... Ferne... imputes this intrusion on theirrights in some degree to necessity. 'I have heard some,' he says, '...allow of the action of Louis XI who had so unknightly a regard both ofhis own honour, and also of armes, that he seldom had about his courtany officer at armes. And therefore, at such time as Edward IV, King ofEngland,... lay before the town of Saint Quentin, the same FrenchKing, for want of a herald to carry his mind to the English King, wasconstrained to suborn a vadelict, or common serving man, with a trumpetbanner, having a hole made through the middest for this preposterousherauld to put his head through, and to cast it over his shouldersinstead of a better coat armour of France. And thus came this hastilyarrayed courier as a counterfeit officer at armes, with instructionsfrom his sovereign's mouth to offer peace to our King.' Ferne's Blazenof Gentry, 1586, p. 161.--S.]

  "Such a stratagem," said Louis, laughing, or affecting to laugh, "couldonly be justified at a Court where no herald were at the time, and whenthe emergency was urgent. But, though it might have passed on the bluntand thick witted islander, no one with brains a whit better than thoseof a wild boar would have thought of passing such a trick upon theaccomplished Court of Burgundy."

  "Send him who will," said the Duke fiercely, "he shall return on theirhands in poor case.--Here!--drag him to the market place!--slash himwith bridle reins and dog whips until the tabard hang about him intatters!--Upon the Rouge Sanglier!--ca, ca!--Haloo, haloo!"

  Four or five large hounds, such as are painted in the hunting piecesupon which Rubens and Schneiders laboured in conjunction, caught thewell known notes with which the Duke concluded, and began to yell andbay as if the boar were just roused from his lair.

  [Rubens (1577-1640): a great Flemish artist whose works were sought bykings and princes. He painted the history of Marie de Medicis in theseries of colossal pictures now in the Louvre. He was knighted by PhilipIV of Spain and Charles I of England.]

  [Schneiders, or Snyders: a Flemish painter of the seventeenth century.]

  "By the rood!" said King Louis, observant to catch the vein of hisdangerous cousin, "since the ass has put on the boar's hide, I would setthe dogs on him to bait him out of it!"

  "Right! right!" exclaimed Duke Charles, the fancy exactly chimingin with his humour at the moment--"it shall be done!--Uncouple thehounds!--Hyke a Talbot! [a hunter's cry to his dog. See Dame Berner'sBoke of Hawking and Hunting.] hyke a Beaumont!--We will course him fromthe door of the Castle to the east gate!"

  "I trust your Grace will treat me as a beast of chase," said the fellow,putting the best face he could upon the matter, "and allow me fair law?"

  "Thou art but vermin," said the Du
ke, "and entitled to no law, by theletter of the book of hunting; nevertheless, thou shalt have sixtyyards in advance, were it but for the sake of thy unparalleledimpudence.--Away, away, sirs!--we will see this sport."

  And the council breaking up tumultuously, all hurried, none fasterthan the two Princes, to enjoy the humane pastime which King Louis hadsuggested.

  The Rouge Sanglier showed excellent sport; for, winged with terror,and having half a score of fierce boar hounds hard at his haunches,encouraged by the blowing of horns and the woodland cheer of thehunters, he flew like the very wind, and had he not been encumberedwith his herald's coat (the worst possible habit for a runner), he mightfairly have escaped dog free; he also doubled once or twice, in a mannermuch approved of by the spectators. None of these, nay, not even Charleshimself, was so delighted with the sport as King Louis, who, partly frompolitical considerations, and partly as being naturally pleased with thesight of human suffering when ludicrously exhibited, laughed till thetears ran from his eyes, and in his ecstasies of rapture caught hold ofthe Duke's ermine cloak, as if to support himself; whilst the Duke, noless delighted, flung his arm around the King's shoulder, making thusan exhibition of confidential sympathy and familiarity, very much atvariance with the terms on which they had so lately stood together. Atlength the speed of the pseudo herald could save him no longer fromthe fangs of his pursuers; they seized him, pulled him down, and wouldprobably soon have throttled him, had not the Duke called out, "Staveand tail!--stave and tail! [to strike the bear with a staff, and pulloff the dogs by the tail, to separate them.]--Take them off him!--Hehath shown so good a course, that, though he has made no sport at bay,we will not have him dispatched."

  Several officers accordingly busied themselves in taking off the dogs;and they were soon seen coupling some up, and pursuing others which ranthrough the streets, shaking in sport and triumph the tattered fragmentsof painted cloth and embroidery rent from the tabard, which theunfortunate wearer had put on in an unlucky hour.

  At this moment, and while the Duke was too much engaged with what passedbefore him to mind what was said behind him, Oliver le Dain, glidingbehind King Louis, whispered into his ear, "It is the Bohemian,Hayraddin Maugrabin.--It were not well he should come to speech of theDuke."

  "He must die," answered Louis in the same tone, "dead men tell notales."

  One instant afterwards, Tristan l'Hermite, to whom Oliver had given thehint, stepped forward before the King and the Duke, and said, in hisblunt manner, "So please your Majesty and your Grace, this piece of gameis mine, and I claim him--he is marked with my stamp--the fleur de lisis branded on his shoulder, as all men may see.--He is a known villain,and hath slain the King's subjects, robbed churches, deflowered virgins,slain deer in the royal parks--"

  "Enough, enough," said Duke Charles, "he is my royal cousin's propertyby many a good title. What will your Majesty do with him?"

  "If he is left to my disposal," said the King, "I will at least give himone lesson in the science of heraldry, in which he is so ignorant--onlyexplain to him practically the meaning of a cross potence, with a noosedangling proper."

  "Not as to be by him borne, but as to bear him.--Let him take thedegrees under your gossip Tristan--he is a deep professor in suchmysteries."

  Thus answered the Duke, with a burst of discordant laughter at his ownwit, which was so cordially chorused by Louis that his rival could nothelp looking kindly at him, while he said, "Ah, Louis, Louis! would toGod thou wert as faithful a monarch as thou art a merry companion!--Icannot but think often on the jovial time we used to spend together."

  "You may bring it back when you will," said Louis; "I will grant youas fair terms as for very shame's sake you ought to ask in my presentcondition, without making yourself the fable of Christendom; and I willswear to observe them upon the holy relique which I have ever the graceto bear about my person, being a fragment of the true cross."

  Here he took a small golden reliquary, which was suspended from his necknext to his shirt by a chain of the same metal, and having kissed itdevoutly, continued--"Never was false oath sworn on this most sacredrelique, but it was avenged within the year."

  "Yet," said the Duke, "it was the same on which you swore amity to mewhen you left Burgundy, and shortly after sent the Bastard of Rubempreto murder or kidnap me."

  "Nay, gracious cousin, now you are ripping up ancient grievances,"said the King. "I promise you, that you were deceived in thatmatter.--Moreover, it was not upon this relique which I then swore,but upon another fragment of the true cross which I got from the GrandSeignior, weakened in virtue, doubtless, by sojourning with infidels.Besides, did not the war of the Public Good break out within the year;and was not a Burgundian army encamped at Saint Denis, backed by all thegreat feudatories of France; and was I not obliged to yield up Normandyto my brother?--O God, shield us from perjury on such a warrant asthis!"

  "Well, cousin," answered the Duke, "I do believe thou hadst a lessonto keep faith another time.--And now for once, without finesse anddoubling, will you make good your promise, and go with me to punish thismurdering La Marck and the Liegeois?"

  "I will march against them," said Louis, "with the Ban and ArriereBan of France [the military force called out by the sovereign in earlyfeudal times, together with their vassals, equipment, and three months'provision], and the Oriflamme displayed."

  "Nay, nay," said the Duke, "that is more than is needful, or may beadvisable. The presence of your Scottish Guard, and two hundred choicelances, will serve to show that you are a free agent. A large armymight--"

  "Make me so in effect, you would say, my fair cousin?" said the King."Well, you shall dictate the number of my attendants."

  "And to put this fair cause of mischief out of the way, you will agreeto the Countess Isabelle of Croye's wedding with the Duke of Orleans?"

  "Fair cousin," said the King, "you drive my courtesy to extremity. TheDuke is the betrothed bridegroom of my daughter Joan. Be generous--yieldup this matter, and let us speak rather of the towns on the Somme."

  "My council will talk to your Majesty of these," said Charles, "I myselfhave less at heart the acquisition of territory than the redress ofinjuries. You have tampered with my vassals, and your royal pleasuremust needs dispose of the hand of a ward of Burgundy. Your Majestymust bestow it within the pale of your own royal family, since you havemeddled with it--otherwise our conference breaks off."

  "Were I to say I did this willingly," said the King, "no one wouldbelieve me, therefore do you, my fair cousin, judge of the extent ofmy wish to oblige you, when I say most reluctantly, that the partiesconsenting, and a dispensation from the Pope being obtained, my ownobjections shall be no bar to this match which you purpose."

  "All besides can be easily settled by our ministers," said the Duke,"and we are once more cousins and friends."

  "May Heaven be praised!" said Louis, "who, holding in his hand thehearts of princes, doth mercifully incline them to peace and clemency,and prevent the effusion of human blood.

  "Oliver," he added apart to that favourite, who ever waited around himlike the familiar beside a sorcerer, "hark thee--tell Tristan to bespeedy in dealing with yonder runagate Bohemian."