I was announced with great authority and I bowed very deeply; of course I did, we want his coins.
“We welcome you in the name of God, Bishop Cornwall,” the young man said as he rose and nodded to acknowledge my bow. He had very inquisitive eyes. I instantly knew he’d have made a good student and, possibly, even an archer.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, I am your humble servant.”
“I saw you look at my game when you came in, Bishop Thomas. It’s something new called chess. I found it in Sicily. Do you know of it?” He said the words with a gesture inviting me to take look. Actually, I was looking at the parchment rolls next to it. But, of course, I couldn’t say that.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I do,” I said as I nodded and took a couple of steps toward the table for a better look.
“You do? What do you think?”
I studied his game for a moment and said, “I think the wooden knight needs to take the stone pawn if it is wood’s turn; if it’s stone’s turn, his queen must be moved to safety.”
“You play? You really play? We must have a game immediately.” He clapped his hands in delight and rushed to join me at the table. The priests and courtiers standing behind me were astonished. So was I.
******
It was a friendly match and the emperor plied me with questions as we played. He knew how to play, but wasn’t very good. His Latin, on the other hand, was surprisingly good.
“My advisors are all curious, Bishop Thomas, and so am I. The priests who rowed ashore yesterday to buy supplies say there was talk in the village and among the English sailors that they just came back from fighting in a war and had won a great victory. Some of my men who went ashore in a water party say they saw prisoners who they thought were speaking German. Could it be that you and your men fought Germans?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, it is true. Some Germans under King Otto and some English barons came to steal the relics so you would not be able to buy them. We fought them separately before they could join forces—and defeated each of them; rather soundly as a matter of fact. I was in my bed with a pox or I would have been with them.
“God was on our side, Majesty. Our outriders, the horsemen who ride out to watch our borders, were able defeat the barons’ army all by themselves. They then joined the rest of our archers and together they defeated King Otto’s army last week.
“My nephew George, who is a much better chess player than I am, by the way, commanded some of our men in both wars. He told me all about what happened in the war against the nobles. He should be returning from the war against King Otto’s army today or tomorrow, so I’ll soon be able to tell you about that war as well.”
Frederick said nothing for almost a minute. He just stood there in front of the chess board, deep in thought about what he’d heard.
“Your nephew plays chess and also fights? He really has led men in battles? I’d like to meet him. Is it possible?” The emperor is more interested in chess than the defeat of his great rival for the emperorship? Not a chance.
“George, that’s my nephew’s name, Your Majesty, is on his way to Restormel Castle to help guard the relics you are here to buy. Restormel is, as I’m sure your majesty knows, up the river from here. I would, of course, send him to you if you wish to meet him. Once he arrives at Restormel, he could come down the river on a galley in a few hours.
“Ah, there we go,” I said as I moved a piece. “You are checked, Majesty; there is no move you can make to escape.”
“You defeated me. You actually defeated me?” Frederick exclaimed incredulously. “No one ever does that. They always let me win. They pretend they don’t, but I know they do.”
The courtiers and priests who had crowded into the castle and stood nearby pretending to be interested in the game were appalled. I could see it on their faces; they had been prepared to clap and cheer for Frederick’s victory.
Did I just make some enemies? Do I really care?
******
Fredrick’s courtiers and I received a big surprise after we played a second game and I once again defeated the emperor. To the surprise and dismay of both me and the emperor’s courtiers and guards, Frederick suddenly announced that he had decided to accept my invitation to visit Restormel in the morning to see the relics for himself before he bought them. It will be the very first time he’s set foot on England; I think that has more to do with it than seeing the relics.
The emperor’s totally unexpected acceptance of my courtesy offer meant I needed to quickly make arrangements to have him and his entire court and his guards rowed up the Fowey in one of our galleys. If he approved of what he saw, which he almost certainly would in view of the Pope’s generous offer, we would bring the relics down the river in a galley and exchange them for his coins in the estuary.
As you might imagine, I immediately excused myself to make the necessary arrangements. I went ashore and discussed the situation with William, who promptly sent a messenger galloping to Restormel with a hastily scribed parchment informing Helen that the emperor would be coming up the river on one of our galleys in the morning, and suggesting she bring the relics down to the great hall so they could be inspected there.
Then William and I hurriedly arranged for one of our galleys to be ready to carry the emperor up the river to Restormel in the morning, installed a chamber pot in the galley's main deck castle for emperor’s personal use, and told its sergeant captain how we expected him and his men to behave when the emperor was on board.
******
The emperor and William and I talked of many things as we stood on the roof of the castle in the rear of the galley as we were rowed up the river. He was interested in how we farmed, of which William and I knew almost nothing, and asked many questions about the school I had established and what I hoped to accomplish.
Courtiers and a large number of German guards were all about us as we talked. They listened silently as I told the emperor about my school my visits to Rome, and William told him what he knew about the fighting with the two armies who had come in an effort to seize the relics—and reminded the emperor that in an hour or so he would be able to get the details directly from one of the men who had actually been at the scene of the battles and engaged in the fighting. He could do so because an exhausted and saddle-sore George had ridden in with Raymond yesterday night.
“Do you visit Rome often, bishop?” one of the German bishops asked me wistfully during a lull in the conversation. “I’ve never been there and I’m looking forward to accompanying the emperor to visit it; is it truly as beautiful as I’ve been told?”
“I've been in Rome to meet with Pope many times, bishop. Some parts of the city, particularly the area around Saint Peter’s basilica where the Pope now lives, are quite beautiful.”
What I didn’t mention is that the parts of the city where the common folk live are even worse and more expensive than where the common folk live in London, and that’s saying a lot.
Then I explained how it was that I had visited Rome so frequently.
“My brother, William, is the captain of the Company of Archers of which I am one of the lieutenants and my nephew is a senior sergeant. It is these stripes that designate my rank in the company,” I said as I pointed to the stripes on the front and back of my tunic and William’s and to the tunics worn by the members of the galley crew, and then explained what they meant.
“My brother and a few of us in the company, mostly the young lads coming out of my school like my nephew whom you’ll soon meet, are warrior priests who have been learnt to gobble and scribe in Latin; most of our company’s archers and their sergeants and the Captain’s lieutenants are not.
“It is the Company of Archer’s galleys, such as this one we’re on, which carry refugees and pilgrims to and from the Holy Land ports and various others. During those dangerous voyages the archers collect donations from those travellers who want the Holy Father’s prayers for their safety.
“Each year, one of us, usually me, travels to R
ome to place the coins from their prayer donations, some of them, at least, directly into the Holy Father’s hands. I have many times been the archer priest who has had the honour of carrying them to Rome and personally handing them to the Holy Father.
“My being in Rome makes me available to do other things once I’ve delivered the donations. As a result, the Holy Father sometimes asks me to use the galley on which I have arrived to carry papal messages and couriers to other lands before I return to England.
“For example, he sent me and Cardinal Bertoli, his tutor when the Pope was a student, to carry a message to the crusaders when they were besieging Constantinople. That’s how we archers and our galleys came to be in Constantinople and could carry the Orthodox priests to safety, and then were able to find the relics after the priests hid them.”
It’s a good story even if it isn’t exactly true; William already had our galleys in Constantinople earning coins by carrying rich refugees to safety. It was William who winkled the relics out of the Patriarch’s palace when the city was falling.
The emperor had been deep in thought after hearing about his rival’s recent defeat at the hands of the archers. He and some of his courtiers, who had been watching and talking about the slowly passing forests and farm lands, and periodically yawning and shaking their heads to stay awake, suddenly came awake and turned to listen as I explained my relationship to the Pope and the relics.
I was gulling the Germans, of course, about being close to the Pope. He just has me put the pouch with his share of the year’s prayer coins from the refugees and pilgrims on the table, waves his hand to bless me, and nods me out. Sometimes Bertoli shows up after I leave the Holy Father’s presence and tells me the Pope has “requested” that I do something for him before I return to England. The Germans didn’t know any of that, of course, and were greatly impressed with my tale about the archers and myself being close to the Pope.
Chapter Sixteen
Thomas describes the relics inspection.
Frederick and his courtiers stood spellbound in Restormel’s great hall with the traditional bowls of welcoming ale in their hands as William explained the disposition of his forces, and then George followed by describing the actual fighting between the archers and the armies of the barons and King Otto.
So did I as a matter of fact, sit spellbound that is, and also appalled, as I listened to George’s account of the fighting. There is no question about it, George has taken too many chances for someone for which we have such high hopes. William now has an infant son and so does George, but it is only George who is truly ready to step into William’s sandals whenever the day comes.
After many questions and thoughtful silences while he heard about the defeat of Otto’s army and pondered its implications, Frederick signalled with a gesture of his hands that it was time to inspect the relics.
Carefully, and with the appropriate care and pious dignity needed to impress Fredrick and his court, I unrolled the many layers of soft wool surrounding the solid gold chest in the wooden packing crate, lifted the golden right hand of Saint John the Baptist out of its golden chest, and reverently showed the greatest religious relic in the world to the emperor and allowed him to touch it—the gold encased hand that had baptised Jesus himself.
Frederick and his entourage, and especially the priests and bishops, were overcome with emotion. There was much weeping and praying in which I felt obliged to join. It was as if everyone was trying to outdo everyone else in demonstrating their piety. I saw Helen and Tori watching wide-eyed from the top of the stairs, and winked at them when I was sure no one was looking.
My presentation was a great success and the emperor's eyes were full of tears as he nodded his acceptance without saying a word. We’ll do the deal tomorrow and hold back most of the other relics for sale to someone else.
****** Bishop Thomas
As a courteous host should, I accompanied Frederick and his court on the galley carrying them back down the river to the emperor’s waiting ship and the war galleys guarding it. I waited until the emperor re-boarded his ship. Then my galley turned around and I was rowed back up the river to Restormel. I had much to do, including putting a Latin-scribing lesson on the younger boys.
In the morning, George and I carried the crate with the gold chest containing the gold-covered hand of Saint John and two of the lesser relics down to our floating wharf on the Fowey. We carefully carried them on one of our galleys. Its crew of archers was armed to the teeth and grimly determined to protect them—the men understood that their prize monies and those of their fellow archers for finding the relics, depended on the relics being sold to the Germans.
The galley on which we travelled down the Fowey with the relics was fully crewed with two heavily armed archers on every oar with their longbows, shields, short swords, and bladed pikes close at hand. Three similarly crewed galleys cast off at the same time to accompany us as we floated down the river to the Fowey estuary to deliver the relics and collect our coins.
We weren’t taking any chances; we wanted to keep the relics safe, and make sure the Germans did not take them and then try to sail away without paying for them. Besides, guarding them so intensely would help convince the Germans of the legitimacy of the relics they were about to pay a king’s ransom to buy.
William, Peter, and George all came down the river with me on the galley carrying Saint John’s all-important right hand until we neared the mouth of the river. Then William and Peter switched to the galleys they’d be using to block the Germans from leaving the harbour if they tried to take the relics without paying for them.
We had floated down the river together so we could talk some more about how we would deliver the relics and collect our coins—and what would happen afterwards.
Beth and Becky floated down the river with us. They insisted on coming so they could see George off on his voyage to Rome with the emperor. From the looks of them, it appeared as if George had gotten both of them pregnant again. Perhaps that’s why neither would be travelling with George to Rome. And it is certainly why I took Peter aside last night and reminded him to keep George away from the women in Lisbon and Rome; they’re mostly poxed, aren’t they?
It would be the last time the men of our family and William’s lieutenants would all be together for some months. As a result, as always seems to happen at the last minute, we suddenly discovered many things to talk about.
There was little wonder in our desire to go over things one more time—most of them would be leaving, and I would be staying behind in Cornwall with Henry and a large number of archers to deal with someone from Sweden. According to a parchment that came in several days ago, a representative from Swedish king would be arriving in a week or two to buy some of the relics; we still didn’t know if France or the crusader princes were interested in buying the relics.
George would be sailing today with Emperor Frederick, and accompanying him and the relics to Rome; Peter and William would sail in the next few days in separate heavily armed galleys, with an important and long overdue special visit to Lisbon along the way. And, of course, Helen would be going with William to care for him.
Peter and William would be going their separate ways at some point after Lisbon, probably at Ibiza, with William going on to Cyprus with Helen, and Peter continuing on to Rome with coins that would be due to the Pope and Cardinal Bertoli from the sale of the relics.
If everything worked out as planned, Peter would rendezvous with George in Rome and together they would deliver the Pope’s share of this year’s donations from the refugees and pilgrims as well as the coins due to the Pope and Cardinal Bertoli for their share of the coins Emperor Frederick paid for the relics.
Altogether it was certainly a very substantial amount of coins we were carrying to Rome, which was why we were sending such a strong force of archers to guard them. Peter and George would return to Cornwall together on Peter’s galley after the coins were delivered. At least, that was the plan.
******
As we floated down the Fowey with the relics, I made sure to congratulate George and William for following my advice “to forget” to mention the usefulness of our longbows and long-handled bladed pikes, or even that we had them, when they described the archers’ battles with the armies of the barons and King Otto. Of course, I didn’t want our longbows discussed; they and our bladed pikes are our “secret weapons” and we want to keep their effectiveness a secret from the knights as long as possible.
We were sending the coins to Rome in the cargo holds of on our own galleys because we are not such unworldly fools as to send them with George on Frederick’s ship. There were several reasons why it would not do to have the emperor discover we are taking so many coins to Rome. For one, he might learn that some of the coins he paid to buy the relics from us were going to the Pope and Cardinal Bertoli—something we had promised to keep secret.
Protecting George was another reason for the coins for the Pope and cardinal not travelling with George on the Emperor’s ship—the temptation for the emperor to take his coins back might cause him or mutinous members of his crew to become overbalanced and result in the loss of the coins and George’s disappearance. In any event, not all the coins the emperor would paying us were destined for Rome—the majority would either be retained at Restormel or paid out to our men as prize money for “finding” the relics.
Afterwards, in a few days, depending on the weather, the coins destined for the Pope and the cardinal would sail for Rome on a separate heavily armed galley, actually two galleys initially. The two galleys would sail together and be under the command of William as far as Lisbon and Ibiza.
Gulling The Kings Page 10
